About this Research Topic

Background

Frontiers in Pharmacology is delighted to present the “Reviews in Ethnopharmacology: 2025” series of article collections.

We are pleased to announce that we have successfully closed the reviews for 2023/2024. You can explore the collection here.

Reviews in Ethnopharmacology 2025 will publish high-quality scholarly review papers on key topics in Ethnopharmacology. It aims to highlight recent advances in the field while emphasizing important directions and new possibilities for future inquiries. We anticipate the research presented will promote discussion in the Ethnopharmacology community that will translate to best practice applications in clinical, public health, and policy settings.

There are some emerging themes we want to highlight in particular:

- The Sustainable Development Goals are crucial for developments in the field of ethnopharmacology, and “Reviews in Ethnopharmacology: 2025” offers a unique opportunity for a critical engagement with the topic
- Specifically, topics linked to biodiversity and their sustainable and equitable use remain largely unexplored by the scientific community and this collection offers the opportunity to explore these scientific and policy frontiers
- Artificial intelligence (AI) and ‘Big Data’ offer novel opportunities, but our current methods of research are generally not yet suitable to enable impactful research. Again, setting the scene in this context especially as it relates to pharmacological activity and clinical efficacy offers many opportunities for critical assessments.

Reviews must provide a specific and critical assessment of the literature. The scientific quality of the original articles must be critically assessed. This includes the experimental design, and reliability of the studies including a sufficiently detailed definition of the material under investigation. A description of the limitations and future research needs and priorities must be included. The Reviews in Ethnopharmacology: 2025 collection welcomes any type of review including full-length (descriptive, systematic, or scoping reviews) and mini-review papers. New articles will be added to this collection as they are published.

Here is a list of some specific themes we envision:

• Translational potential of traditional medicinal plants in cancer prevention.
• Ethnopharmacology of mental health disorders: insights from traditional healing practices and scientific validation.
• Ethnobotanical approaches for combating antimicrobial resistance.
• Traditional medicine in the digital age: opportunities and challenges.
• Herbal medicine and chronic disease management: a global perspective.
• Ethnopharmacology and sustainable development: balancing conservation and community health.
• Ethnopharmacology of traditional Chinese medicine: bridging ancient wisdom and modern science.
• Medicinal plants used in Ayurveda: exploring traditional knowledge and contemporary applications.


Studies need to comply with the best practice guidelines of the section if plant extracts are investigated including the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology. A detailed description of the material studied, its extraction, and processing is essential. You can freely download the full version here. Please self-assess your MS using the ConPhyMP tool, and follow the standards established in the ConPhyMP statement Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205. Please note the traditional context including the primary background and modern uses with supporting references must be included in the manuscript introduction. Purely in silico approaches using complex mixtures (extracts) are generally not considered.

Article types and fees

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• ... View all formats

Articles that are accepted for publication by our external editors following rigorous peer review incur a publishing fee charged to Authors, institutions, or funders.

Article types

This Research Topic accepts the following article types, unless otherwise specified in the Research Topic description:

• Clinical Trial
• Data Report
• Editorial
• General Commentary
• Hypothesis and Theory
• Methods
• Mini Review
• Opinion
• Original Research
• Perspective
• Policy and Practice Reviews
• Review
• Study Protocol
• Systematic Review
• Technology and Code

Keywords: collectionseries, phytopharmacology, ethnopharmacological research, review studies

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.

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