About this Research Topic
Herbal Medicines and Their Metabolites: Effects on Lipid Metabolic Disorders via Modulating Oxidative Stress
Triglycerides, phospholipids, and sterols are the major types of lipids in the human body. Physiologically, lipid metabolism plays a significant role in regulating nutrient substances. Dysfunctional lipid metabolism may lead to serious diseases, including non-alcoholic fatty liver diseases (NAFLDs), obesity, hyperlipidemia, type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), and alcoholic steatohepatitis (ASH). Oxidative stress is a state of imbalance between oxidation and antioxidation induced by excessive accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Recently, a growing body of scientific evidence has suggested that oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction contribute to the development of lipid metabolic disorders. The context of local and traditional uses of the species needs to be spelled out.
Drugs currently available for treating lipid metabolic diseases are limited in their curative effects, and long-term use of these drugs is frequently associated with severe side effects. Studies have demonstrated that herbal medicines and their metabolites (extracts or monomers) from plants, animals, microorganisms, and minerals may prevent and treat lipid metabolic disorders by modulating mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress. Developing effective and safe candidate drugs derived from herbal medicines and their metabolites has become a research hotspot. Herein, we proposed to provide an academic platform for the topic of “Herbal Medicines and Their Metabolites: Effects on Lipid Metabolic Disorders via Modulating Oxidative Stress ”.
This research topic aims to publish original research and review articles that explore the potential topics, including but not limited to the following:
• Novel pharmacological findings on botanical drugs and natural products derived from plants, animals, microorganisms, and minerals for treating or preventing lipid metabolic disorders via modulating oxidative stress.
• Novel molecular mechanisms of herbal medicines and their metabolites for treating or preventing lipid metabolic disorders via modulating oxidative stress.
• Recent advances on herbal medicines and their metabolites for treating or preventing lipid metabolic disorders via modulating oxidative stress.
• Potential herbal medicines and their metabolites capable of alleviating toxicities of drugs currently available for managing lipid metabolic disorders via modulating oxidative stress.
• Potential strategies on how to treat or prevent metabolic disorders using herbal medicines and their metabolites from plants, animals, microorganisms, minerals, etc.
• Novel strategies to discover potential herbal medicines and their metabolites for treating or preventing lipid metabolic disorders targeting oxidative stress, such as Network pharmacology, Artificial intelligence, and Computer-aided design.
Important Note:
All contributions to this Research Topic must follow the guideline listed in this section:
• The introduction should describe the background of the research object and provide bibliographical references that illustrate its recent application in general healthcare.
• Research-baseded solely on in silico approaches (e.g., network studies or docking experiments) does not fit with the scopes of this SI.
• Small molecules exhibiting in silico or in vitro effects but without specific pharmacological targets do not fit with the scopes of this SI.
• Chemical anti-oxidant assays like the DPPH or ABTS assay are of no pharmacological relevance, Therefore they can only be used a chemical-analytical assays without pharmacological claims.
• Please self-assess your MS using the ConPhyMP tool, and follow the standards established in the ConPhyMP statement Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205. All the manuscripts need to fully comply with the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology (you can freely download the full version here). Importantly, please ascertain that the ethnopharmacological context is clearly described (pillar 3d) and that the material investigated is characterized in detail (pillars 2 a and b).
Keywords: Lipid metabolism, oxidative stress, natural agents, drug discovery
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.