Anti-Inflammatory, and Antibacterial Properties of Fruits in Respiratory, Urinary and Digestive Tract Infections

  • 12k

    Total downloads

  • 45k

    Total views and downloads

About this Research Topic

Submission closed

Background

This Research Topic addresses the discovery of therapeutic approaches using plant extracts and pure natural products from fruits to fight respiratory, urinary and digestive tract infections. We highlight the molecular mechanisms underlying anti-infectious activities and the therapeutic perspectives.

A tract infection (affecting the respiratory, urinary and digestive tracts) is the invasion of human tract tissues by disease-causing agents, their multiplication, and the reaction of human tissues to these pathogens and the toxins they produce, and it is a leading cause of death and disability worldwide. Inflammatory responses are crucial risk factors for the progression of tract infections. There are two major options of traction infection therapies: lifestyle interventions and pharmaceutical therapies. Emerging evidence demonstrates that regular exercise is a very effective and safe way to retard the progression of tract infection. Many drugs - including antibiotics - show positive outcomes in pharmaceutical therapies, but those cause global distribution of tract infection because of the selection of drug-resistant pathogens and treatment side effects. Therefore, the search for new anti-inflammatory drugs with limited unwanted side effects is a current preoccupation. This Research Topic will focus on novel pharmaceutical and pharmacological approaches using plant extracts (which need to be chemically characterized) and pure natural products but will not focus on lifestyle interventions.

A variety of fruits have medicinal qualities due to their anti-inflammatory and antibacterial properties. There is a growing awareness of the potential of fruits to fight respiratory, urinary and digestive tract infections, which has been confirmed in clinical trials. However, the mechanisms by which fruit-derived compounds attenuate the progression of tract infection remain largely unknown.

This Research Topic aims at promoting the discovery of new anti-inflammatory agents in fruits, and their mechanism of action against tract infection. We particularly welcome manuscripts dealing with:

- the discovery of new anti-infectious agents from fruits
- the characterization of discrete components and bioactive ingredients and their molecular targets
- the dynamic interaction between microbes and anti-infectious agents
- the therapeutic perspectives of newly-discovered molecules
- the rational design of new antimicrobial drugs
- animal models for pharmacological research of infection are an essential asset in this topic.
- Carefully designed clinical studies with chemically characterized plant extracts and pure natural product

Authors are strongly advised to follow the advice as follows:

The title should be concise, clear and appropriately describe the contents of the paper. Do not use unspecified, non-standard abbreviations in the title.

Methods are developing rapidly experimental pharmacology. For instance, for measurement of anti-inflammatory activity in vivo studies, simple in silico and pharmacologically irrelevant assays are not acceptable for assessing an extract or a compound for the activity.

In general we expect that the pharmacological study is linked to local or traditional uses of the species under investigation

Values in tables and text MUST NOT exaggerate the accuracy of the methods used.

Simple in silico and pharmacologically irrelevant assays for antioxidant activity (e.g. the DPPH assay, FRAP (Ferric Reducing Ability of Plasma), ABTS (2,2'-azinobis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid)) are not acceptable as a main tool for assessing an extract or a compound for activity. Such assays are commonly used in food chemistry, which is fine, but it is not of pharmacological relevance.

The selection of a validated and predictive animal and in vitro model is essential to address the clinical question and should meet the standards in ethnopharmacology. The selection, design and conduct of an animal model is highly recommended to assess both efficacy and safety endpoints.

Please provide positive and negative controls in science; the composition of the study material should be described sufficiently; All compounds should be used with clear purity; The identification of the study material should be clear and a voucher specimen must be deposited in an recognized herbarium .Organisms must be named according to the latest available lists of plants and all species are fully validated using http://mpns.kew.org/mpns-portal/ or www.theplantlist.org. It is essential that chemical documentation is provided as complete as possible.
When describing the pharmacokinetic properties of the biochemical that is the active ingredient or active pharmaceutical ingredient (API), pharmacologists are often interested in L-ADME: Liberation – How is the API disintegrated, dispersed, or dissolved from the medication? Absorption – How is the API absorbed (through the intestine, the oral mucosa)? Distribution – How does the API spread through the organism? Metabolism – Is the API converted chemically inside the body? Excretion – How is the API excreted (through urine, breath and skin)?

We encourage the submission of Original Research and Review article types.

Keywords: anti-microbial activity, antioxidant fruits, apoptosis, autophagy, epigenetics, microRNA, natural products, serum biomarker

Important note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.

Topic editors

Frequently asked questions

  • Frontiers' Research Topics are collaborative hubs built around an emerging theme.Defined, managed, and led by renowned researchers, they bring communities together around a shared area of interest to stimulate collaboration and innovation.

    Unlike section journals, which serve established specialty communities, Research Topics are pioneer hubs, responding to the evolving scientific landscape and catering to new communities.

  • The goal of Frontiers' publishing program is to empower research communities to actively steer the course of scientific publishing. Our program was implemented as a three-part unit with fixed field journals, flexible specialty sections, and dynamically emerging Research Topics, connecting communities of different sizes and maturity.

    Research Topics originate from the scientific community. Many of our Research Topics are suggested by existing editorial board members who have identified critical challenges or areas of interest in their field.

  • As an editor, Research Topics will help you build your journal, as well as your community, around emerging, cutting-edge research. As research trailblazers, Research Topics attract high-quality submissions from leading experts all over the world.

    A thriving Research Topic can potentially evolve into a new specialty section if there is sustained interest and a growing community around it.

  • Each Research Topic must be approved by the specialty chief editor, and it falls under the editorial oversight of our editorial boards, supported by our in-house research integrity team. The same standards and rigorous peer review processes apply to articles published as part of a Research Topic as for any other article we publish.

    In 2023, 80% of the Research Topics we published were edited or co-edited by our editorial board members, who are already familiar with their journal's scope, ethos, and publishing model. All other topics are guest edited by leaders in their field, each vetted and formally approved by the specialty chief editor.

  • Publishing your article within a Research Topic with other related articles increases its discoverability and visibility, which can lead to more views, downloads, and citations. Research Topics grow dynamically as more published articles are added, causing frequent revisiting, and further visibility.

    As Research Topics are multidisciplinary, they are cross-listed in several fields and section journals – increasing your reach even more and giving you the chance to expand your network and collaborate with researchers in different fields, all focusing on expanding knowledge around the same important topic.

    Our larger Research Topics are also converted into ebooks and receive social media promotion from our digital marketing team.

     

  • Frontiers offers multiple article types, but it will depend on the field and section journals in which the Research Topic will be featured. The available article types for a Research Topic will appear in the drop-down menu during the submission process.

    Check available article types here 

  • Yes, we would love to hear your ideas for a topic. Most of our Research Topics are community-led and suggested by researchers in the field. Our in-house editorial team will contact you to talk about your idea and whether you’d like to edit the topic. If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. 

    Suggest your topic here 

  • A team of guest editors (called topic editors) lead their Research Topic. This editorial team oversees the entire process, from the initial topic proposal to calls for participation, the peer review, and final publications.

    The team may also include topic coordinators, who help the topic editors send calls for participation, liaise with topic editors on abstracts, and support contributing authors. In some cases, they can also be assigned as reviewers.

  • As a topic editor (TE), you will take the lead on all editorial decisions for the Research Topic, starting with defining its scope. This allows you to curate research around a topic that interests you, bring together different perspectives from leading researchers across different fields and shape the future of your field. 

     

    You will choose your team of co-editors, curate a list of potential authors, send calls for participation and oversee the peer review process, accepting or recommending rejection for each manuscript submitted.

  • As a topic editor, you're supported at every stage by our in-house team. You will be assigned a single point of contact to help you on both editorial and technical matters. Your topic is managed through our user-friendly online platform, and the peer review process is supported by our industry-first AI review assistant (AIRA).

  • If you’re an early-stage researcher, we will offer you the opportunity to coordinate your topic, with the support of a senior researcher as the topic editor. This provides you with valuable editorial experience, improving your ability to critically evaluate research articles and enhancing your understanding of the quality standards and requirements for scientific publishing, as well as the opportunity to discover new research in your field, and expand your professional network.

  • Yes, certificates can be issued on request. We are happy to provide a certificate for your contribution to editing a successful Research Topic.

  • Research Topics thrive on collaboration and their multi-disciplinary approach around emerging, cutting-edge themes, attract leading researchers from all over the world.

  • As a topic editor, you can set the timeline for your Research Topic, and we will work with you at your pace. Typically, Research Topics are online and open for submissions within a few weeks and remain open for participation for 6 – 12 months. Individual articles within a Research Topic are published as soon as they are ready.

    Find out more about our Research Topics

  • Our fee support program ensures that all articles that pass peer review, including those published in Research Topics, can benefit from open access – regardless of the author's field or funding situation.

    Authors and institutions with insufficient funding can apply for a discount on their publishing fees. A fee support application form is available on our website.

  • In line with our mission to promote healthy lives on a healthy planet, we do not provide printed materials. All our articles and ebooks are available under a CC-BY license, so you can share and print copies.

     

Impact

  • 45kTopic views
  • 29kArticle views
  • 12kArticle downloads
View impact