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Low- and middle-income countries have a centuries-old tradition of using medicinal plants to treat various communicable and non-communicable diseases and ailments. In some regions, these medicinal plants still serve as alternatives to conventional drugs and have the reputation to efficiently treat some serious diseases including cancer, diabetes, and infectious diseases. As a result, these plants and their bioactive compounds offer the tremendous opportunity for drug discovery if the identification of their therapeutic activity is objectively demonstrated by standard international research. The Collection invites for research articles, reviews and data notes dealing with the identification and the role of medicinal plants and their natural bioactive compounds for treating some diseases. This initiative aligns with the sustainable development goal SDG3, which aims to combat global mortality caused by communicable and non-communicable diseases. Additionally, our call can also highlight the opportunities for plant diversification and therapeutic innovation in line with SDG8.

The topics considered for the Collection includes (but is not limited to):

• Emerging medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds with therapeutic activity in in vitro and/or in vivo models of non-communicable diseases (e.g, cancer, diabetes, hypertension, heart, lung diseases)
• Physiologic role of medicinal plants and their bioactive compounds in tissue function, kinome, transcriptome, proteome, lipidome, metabolome, non-coding RNAs.
• Purification methods of bioactive compounds
• Drugs derived from medicinal plants that have antimicrobial activity against bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites, particularly from low-income countries. These drugs have the potential to address the global threat of antimicrobial resistance, which is a major threat to public health worldwide.
• The use of nanotechnology to enhance the delivery, efficacy, and safety of medicinal plants. Nanotechnology offers innovative solutions to overcome limitations in conventional drug delivery systems, such as poor solubility, stability, bioavailability, and targeting.
• Use of computer-aided drug discovery to identify lead plant compounds in drug discovery.
• Plants that are used for wound healing and anti-inflammatory purposes in traditional medicine. These plants can provide valuable insights into the mechanisms of wound healing and inflammation, potentially leading to the development of new therapeutic agents.

Minimum standards required by the FDA and other drug regulatory bodies for medicinal plants.

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­­All manuscripts submitted to this Article Collection will undergo a full peer-review; the Guest Advisors for this Collection will not be handling the manuscripts (unless they are an Editorial Board member).

Please review the journal scope and author submission instructions prior to submitting a manuscript.

The deadline for submitting manuscripts is 14 June 2024.

Please contact Dr. Ashley Ambros at [email protected] with any queries and discount codes regarding this Article Collection.

Please be sure to select the appropriate Article Collection from the drop-down menu in the submission system.

Please select Plant Biology from the list of available sections during submission. Failure to select the appropriate Article Collection or Section name can result in delays.

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Disclosure Statement: Dr. Ndlovu and Prof. Barka declare no conflicts of interest regarding this work.

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