Natural Products for Infectious Diseases
1Wonkwang University, Iksan, Republic of Korea
2Hunan University of Chinese Medicine, Changsha, China
3West Virginia University, Morgantown, USA
4Jeonju Biomaterials Institute, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
5University of Cukurova, Adana, Turkey
Natural Products for Infectious Diseases
Description
Infectious diseases have represented a threat to human lives since the beginning of human existence. These infectious diseases were conquered through the discovery of antibiotics and antiviral agents. However, emerging antibiotic-resistant strains and mutant microorganisms are more powerful than the existing antibiotic-resistant strains and mutant microorganisms. In particular, new emerging infectious diseases in the last 20 years have become global issues. Prime examples of these include infections caused by HIV, Ebola, and bird flu viruses, which pose a threat to humans. In addition, the existing microorganisms have developed resistance, leading to infections by antibiotic-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus. Moreover, microbial biofilms cannot be treated by antibiotics and can cause chronic infections. Infectious diseases continue to pose a threat to humans and continued efforts are needed to develop effective treatments. In recent times, natural products are as widely used as chemical drugs against clinical diseases. Most chemical drugs that are widely used today were isolated from natural products, and thus natural products will continue to be important raw materials for the development of new drugs. However, since natural products are the byproducts of empirical medicine, they lack scientific validation. Currently, various scientific experiments are being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of natural products.
In vivo or in vitro studies of efficacies of drugs used for infectious diseases, analyses of clinical trial data obtained from scientific statistical investigations, and bioactive components of natural products used for infectious diseases, isolation of chemical components from natural products, and elucidation of mechanism of drug actions are required to evaluate the efficacies of natural products.
The current special issue will include research articles, reviews, and systematic reviews that have evaluated the efficacies of natural products used in traditional or empirical medicine and in suppressing infectious diseases and provide supporting scientific clinical evidence.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Clinical trial of natural products for infectious diseases using scientific statistical analysis
- Animal studies and in vitro experiments evaluating scientific efficacy of natural products used for the treatment of infectious diseases
- Investigation of pharmacological and molecular biological mechanisms of natural products for infectious diseases
- The new technologies, such as nanotechnology, novel emulsification methods, and photodynamic therapy, in the formulation of natural products for infectious diseases