Natural Toxin–Based Therapeutics from Animals, Plants, and Marine Organisms: Clinical Evidence and Drug Development Perspectives
A special issue of Toxins (ISSN 2072-6651).
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 14
Special Issue Editors
Interests: venom; drug discovery; pharmacology; herbal medicine; immune response
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Interests: endometriosis; infertility; pain management; herbal medicines; pharmacopuncture (herbal acupuncture)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Natural toxins—produced by animals, plants, and marine organisms—are biologically active compounds that have historically played a crucial role in the treatment of human diseases and continue to be valuable in modern drug discovery. Several toxins, such as snake venoms, bee venom, and plant-derived alkaloids and glycosides, are already utilized clinically in fields such as anesthesia, neurology, endocrinology, and oncology. Ongoing research continues to expand the evidence base supporting their safety and therapeutic efficacy in clinical settings.
This Special Issue welcomes the submission of original research articles, reviews, and short communications on recent advances in the study of natural toxins, with a focus on their therapeutic potential, mechanisms of action, safety profiles, and translational applications. The scope of this Special Issue includes, but is not limited to, the following topics:
- Clinical evidence: Applications of various natural toxins in drug development and in the treatment of neurological, immune, metabolic, oncologic, infectious, inflammatory, dermatologic, rare, and refractory diseases.
- Mechanisms of action and adverse effects: Molecular pathways underlying therapeutic activity and toxicity profiles (e.g., bee venom–induced skin reactions, cardiovascular risks of specific plant toxins).
- Preclinical studies: In vitro and in vivo research on natural toxins from animal sources (e.g., bee, snake, toad, or spider), plant sources (e.g., aloe, ephedra, oleander, or mycotoxins), and marine organisms (e.g., box jellyfish).
- Diagnostics, monitoring, and prevention: Rapid detection methods (e.g., qPCR assays), the clinical recognition of toxicity, and intervention strategies in healthcare, food/feed safety, and environmental exposure.
- Translational potential and drug development: Bioengineering, synthetic modification, and structure-based drug design exploiting toxin bioactivity and target specificity.
Dr. Gihyun Lee
Dr. Soo-Hyun Sung
Guest Editors
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 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
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 double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxins 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 2700 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 toxins
- plant toxins
- animal venom
- marine organisms
- therapeutic application
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