Recent Advances in the Toxicology and Safety of Medicinal Plants and Natural Products
A special issue of Molecules (ISSN 1420-3049). This special issue belongs to the section "Natural Products Chemistry".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2025 | Viewed by 214
Special Issue Editor
Interests: natural compounds; plant extracts; medicinal plants; lichens; biological activity; phytochemistry; phytochemical drug analysis
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Plants have been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Their therapeutic properties have been used to treat a wide range of diseases, and the active compounds isolated from them have gradually become effective medicines and the starting point for synthesizing new therapeutic substances. While the benefits of natural products are undeniable and there has been a resurgence of interest in natural product therapies, it is important to be aware of the potential risks associated with their use. Plants and fungi produce many toxic metabolites, which, despite their therapeutic potential, may pose a threat to human health and life. This danger is related to, among others, the use of excessive doses, the occurrence of interactions with concomitant drugs, or the different types of toxicity exhibited by substances of natural origin. Conversely, in the treatment of aggressive diseases with limited therapeutic options (e.g., cancer), the toxic potential of natural products can be harnessed. Knowledge of the pharmacological (therapeutic and toxic) properties and ability of natural substances to modify the metabolism of various xenobiotics, as well as the development of research into the possibility of reducing the therapeutic toxic effects of compounds of natural origin, can significantly increase the safety of natural therapies and open up new perspectives in medicine.
Dr. Elżbieta Studzińska-Sroka
Guest Editor
Manuscript Submission Information
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Keywords
- toxicity of natural compounds and plant extracts
- safety of natural products
- drug development
- in silico modeling
- in vitro study
- in vivo study
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