With the ever-growing life stress and propensity for poor eating habits, the hepato-intestinal system experiences a significant burden. The severity and morbidity of hepato-intestinal diseases show an unfavorable trend. Currently, there is still a lack of safe, effective, and specific therapeutic drugs in clinical practice for hepato-intestinal diseases. For example, despite decades of persistent efforts by scientists, only one drug, resmetirom, has been approved by the U.S. FDA for the treatment of metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, while its benefits still need to be supported by long-term and large-scale clinical evidence. In line with the rising interest in "returning to nature," pursuing ideal medications from the "natural resource pool " has attracted scholars' extensive attention. Successful examples, such as artemisinin and taxol, continually encourage researchers to find desirable medications for hepato-intestinal diseases from natural sources.

This research topic explores the pharmacodynamics and related mechanisms of active metabolites in herbal medicines and well-characterized plant extracts for hepato-intestinal diseases. Diseases of interest include, but are not limited to, metabolic-associated fatty liver disease, hepatocellular carcinoma, constipation, acute liver injury, and ulcerative colitis. Animal experiments are only considered if therapeutically relevant dose levels are used (normally less than 1 g/kg). All plant extracts must be well-characterized complying with the ConPhyMP standards. Pharmacokinetic studies are encouraged. The implementation of this topic will open new avenues for the treatment of hepato-intestinal diseases and greatly promote the discovery of safe and effective candidates for hepato-intestinal diseases from the "natural resource pool."

In this research topic, we welcome investigators to submit original research, reviews, and clinical trials. Potential subtopics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Pharmacodynamic and mechanistic studies of active metabolites in herbal medicines and well-characterized plant extracts in hepato-intestinal cancers.
• Pharmacodynamic and mechanistic studies of active metabolites in herbal medicines and well-characterized plant extracts in chronic or acute hepato-intestinal diseases.
• Clarifying the efficacy of active metabolites in herbal medicines and well-characterized plant extracts from the gut microbiota perspective.
• Clinical studies of active metabolites in herbal medicines and well-characterized plant extracts in the treatment of hepato-intestinal diseases.

Please note:
1) Please self-assess your MS using the ConPhyMP tool (https://ga-online.org/best-practice), 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).
2) Clinical trial articles will be accepted for review only if they are randomized, double-blinded, and placebo controlled. Statistical power analysis or a justification of the sample size is mandatory as is a detailed chemical characterization of the study medication (see the ConPhyMP statement).
3) In silico studies like network analyses are generally not accepted if they are conducted with complex mixtures. For pure compounds they need to be combined with detailed in vitro or in vivo analysis of the material (extract) under investigation. Docking studies are not accepted unless followed by benchwork assessing affinity. A proposed mechanism of action is required. Non-specific ‘pseudo-docking’, for example polyphenols must be assessed.

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Frontiers in Pharmacology

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