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Antibiotics
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Rethinking Mild Infections: The Role of Natural Products in Antimicrobial...
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Rethinking Mild Infections: The Role of Natural Products in Antimicrobial Stewardship

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 May 2026 | Viewed by 1133

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Karel Kostev

E-Mail
Guest Editor
1. Epidemiology, IQVIA, 60549 Frankfurt, Germany
2. University Hospital, Philipps University of Marburg, 35043 Marburg, Germany
Interests: antibiotic resistance; respiratory tract infections; urinary tract infections; phytopharmaceuticals; infections in children; real-world evidence; real-world data
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The growing urgency of antimicrobial resistance demands a fresh perspective on the management of mild infections. This Special Issue of Antibiotics, “Rethinking Mild Infections: The Role of Natural Products in Antimicrobial Stewardship”, seeks to explore underutilized and emerging strategies that leverage natural products as viable alternatives or adjuncts to conventional antimicrobial therapies. We invite authors to contribute original research articles and reviews that critically examine the efficacy, safety, and ecological impact of phytopharmaceuticals in clinical or community settings.

Special emphasis will be placed on innovative approaches to reduce unnecessary antibiotic use, support host immunity, and integrate traditional knowledge with modern evidence-based practices. We also welcome contributions that highlight methodological advances in evaluating natural products and their role in policy, education, or interdisciplinary stewardship programs.

We invite you to help reframe the conversation. Submissions are now open.

Prof. Dr. Karel Kostev
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • natural products
  • herbal products
  • phytopharmaceutical
  • antimicrobial resistance
  • respiratory tract infections
  • urinary tract infections

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

16 pages, 2107 KB  
Article
An Epidemiological Study on the Effectiveness of Nasturtium Herb and Horseradish Root (Angocin® Anti-Infekt N) as well as Other Phytopharmaceuticals, Synthetic Products, and Antibiotics on the Course of Acute Upper Respiratory Tract Infection (aURTI)
by Nina Kassner, Meinolf Wonnemann, Yvonne Ziegler and Karel Kostev
Antibiotics 2026, 15(4), 336; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15040336 - 26 Mar 2026
Viewed by 735
Abstract
Background: The goal of this study was to evaluate whether medical recommendation of Angocin® Anti-Infekt N (hereafter referred to as Angocin®) on the day of diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory tract infection (aURTI) or acute sinusitis (AS) is [...] Read more.
Background: The goal of this study was to evaluate whether medical recommendation of Angocin® Anti-Infekt N (hereafter referred to as Angocin®) on the day of diagnosis of an acute upper respiratory tract infection (aURTI) or acute sinusitis (AS) is negatively associated with a recurrence of these diagnoses, incidence of antibiotic prescriptions, incidence of chronic sinusitis, nasal polyps, or sick leave duration. Methods: This retrospective cohort study utilized the IQVIATM Disease Analyzer database and included patients by general practitioners with at least one diagnosis of aURTI or AS from 2005 to 2024 and a prescription of Angocin®, nasal medications (xylometazoline, oxymetazoline) and mucolytics (ambroxol or acetylcysteine), other phytopharmaceutical drugs, or antibiotics on the day of diagnosis. Patients who received Angocin® were matched separately to each of the three comparison cohorts in a 1:5 ratio using a nearest-neighbor propensity score approach. The relationship between Angocin® prescription and the risks of a recurrence, subsequent antibiotic use or progression to chronic disease was then estimated with Cox proportional hazard models. To examine whether Angocin® exposure was associated with the length of sick leave, univariable conditional logistic regression was applied. Results: A total of 3501 Angocin® patients and 17,505 patients in each further cohort were investigated. Angocin® prescription was associated with a significantly lower incidence of a newly diagnosed aURTI/AS as compared to other phytopharmaceuticals (Hazard ratio (HR): 0.78; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.68–0.86), nasal medications and mucolytics (HR: 0.79; 95% CI: 0.71–0.88), or antibiotics (HR: 0.85; 95% CI: 0.77–0.95). In addition, there was a significantly lower incidence of subsequent further prescriptions of antibiotics when compared to other phytopharmaceuticals (HR: 0.92; 95% CI: 0.82–0.99), nasal medications and mucolytics (HR: 0.87 (95%; CI: 0.80–0.95), or antibiotics (HR: 0.62; 95% CI: 0.57–0.67). Furthermore, Angocin® was associated with the most advantageous pattern of work absence across all time periods examined. Conclusions: Considering the limitations of the study, the results cast a positive light on Angocin® prescription in the management of aURTI/AS, particularly with regard to recurrence rates, subsequent antibiotic prescriptions, and sick leave duration. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Rethinking Mild Infections: The Role of Natural Products in Antimicrobial Stewardship)
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