Gastrointestinal (GI) cancers, including esophageal, gastric, and colorectal cancers, are one of the major malignant diseases detrimental to health and account for almost 20% of all cancers worldwide. Besides their high incidence, GI cancers are related to high mortality rates, placing these malignancies among the most prominent public health issues of our time. Gastrointestinal diseases are prevalent, especially functional gastrointestinal disorders. Natural product has been used for thousands of years in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases including cancer. To discover and develop the natural product with therapeutic selectivity and without toxicity are very important steps in the treatment of GI diseases. Because of their wide range of pharmacologic activities and low toxicity in animal models, many natural products have been used as alternative treatments for gastrointestinal diseases and cancers. Growing evidence has shown that natural products are beneficial for patients with gastrointestinal diseases or cancer, but it is still unconvincing and the mechanism behind the effect has not been fully revealed. In this Research Topic, we emphasize: (1) evaluation of clinical effectiveness of natural products in the treatment of gastrointestinal diseases including cancer; (2) mechanism of action of natural products; (3) translation of natural products into routine practice.

Viruses are smart, mutating, and becoming resistant to antiviral pharmaceuticals. Global crises such as COVID-19, SARS, and dengue feaver spread more quickly than we can develop medicines to fight them. Herbalist and best-selling author Stephen Harrod Buhner has studied the antiviral properties of plants for many years. In this comprehensive guide, he profiles the plants that have proven most effective in fighting viral infections and provides in-depth instructions for preparing and using formulations to address the most common infections and strengthen immunity, safely and naturally. The updated 2nd edition includes an expanded guide to COVID-19, including a review of the most up-to-date medical research and the plant medicines that have been found to be most potent in preventing infection, lessening the impact of the virus on the body, and addressing longer-term effects and co-infections. This publication conforms to the EPUB Accessibility specification at WCAG 2.0 Level AA.

Based on careful analysis of burden of disease and the costs ofinterventions, this second edition of 'Disease Control Priorities in Developing Countries, 2nd edition' highlights achievable priorities; measures progresstoward providing efficient, equitable care; promotes cost-effectiveinterventions to targeted populations; and encourages integrated effortsto optimize health. Nearly 500 experts - scientists, epidemiologists, health economists,academicians, and public health practitioners - from around the worldcontributed to the data sources and methodologies, and identifiedchallenges and priorities, resulting in this integrated, comprehensivereference volume on the state of health in developing countries.

The global popularity of herbal supplements and the promise they hold in treating various disease states has caused an unprecedented interest in understanding the molecular basis of the biological activity of traditional remedies. Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects focuses on presenting current scientific evidence of biomolecular ef

The approach to drug discovery from natural sources has yielded many important new pharmaceuticals inaccessible by other routes. In many cases the isolated natural product may not be an effective drug for any of several reasons, but it nevertheless may become a drug through chemical modification or have a novel pharmacophore for future drug design. In summarizing the status of natural products as cancer chemotherapeutics, Anticancer Agents from Natural Products, Second Edition covers the: History of each covered drug—a discussion of its mechanism on action, medicinal chemistry, synthesis, and clinical applications Potential for novel drug discovery through the use of genome mining as well as future developments in anticancer drug discovery Important biosynthetic approaches to "unnatural" natural products Anticancer Agents from Natural Products, Second Edition discusses how complex target-oriented synthesis—enabled by historic advances in methodology—has enormously expanded the scope of the possible. This book covers the current clinically used anticancer agents that are either natural products or are clearly derived from natural product leads. It also reviews drug candidates currently in clinical development since many of these will be clinically used drugs in the future. Examples include the drugs etoposide and teniposide derived from the lead compound podophyllotoxin; numerous analogs derived from taxol; topotecan, derived from camptothecin; and the synthetic clinical candidates, E7389 and HTI-286, developed from the marine leads, halichondrin B and hemiasterlin.

This Research Topic is part of a series with: Multi-targeted Natural Products as Cancer Therapeutics: Challenges and Opportunities, Volume II Cancer remains a leading cause of disease-related deaths worldwide, despite recent advances in our understanding of cancer initiation, progression, and metastasis. Chemotherapy and radiotherapy have been used as standard non-surgical treatments of human cancer for decades, however, the survival rates of patients with cancer, especially those with advanced diseases are still very low due to the high toxicities of these treatments as well as the severe side effects. This fact has motivated researchers to discover new cancer therapeutics with minimum side effects, which intensively promotes the rapid development of single specific molecule-targeted therapies (SSMTT). Many efforts have been made in world-wide cancer drug discovery research and several single molecule-targeted therapies have been successfully developed. Unfortunately, most of the investments failed because cancer is a genetic disease and always harbors multiple alternations of molecules or genes at the genomic, genetic and epigenetic levels. The inhibition of a single molecule or signaling pathway by SSMTT frequently results in a hyperactive compensation of other cancer-related molecules and signaling pathways as well as the subsequent development of drug resistance. Therefore, identifying multi-targeted therapies, i.e. drugs that are able to target multiple cancer-related genes, proteins, or signaling pathways is a more promising way to success in developing new cancer therapeutics. Natural products, especially those from traditional Chinese medicine and folk remedies in other countries are an extraordinarily important source for new drug discovery over the past decades. Of note, many natural products have often been demonstrated to target several crucial genes or proteins in cancer-related signaling networks and exert synergistic effects. For example, Japonicone A, a dimeric sesquiterpenoid from the medicinal plant Inula japonica, has been found to inhibit tumor growth and metastasis by dually targeting the TNF-α/NF-κB and p53/MDM2 signaling pathways. Traditionally, researchers have believed that the multi-targeting mechanisms of natural products have limited their use in cancer treatment due to the low specificity and potential side effects. The growing interest in developing multi-targeted cancer therapies may provide another golden opportunity to develop natural products as new cancer therapeutics. Nevertheless, critical investigations for a comprehensive understanding of the molecular mechanisms of natural products also mean more challenges. Our long-term goals are to fully understand the molecular targets and mechanisms of action of anticancer natural products and develop them as novel cancer preventive and therapeutic agents. The specific goal of this Research Topic is to bring together the recent findings of newly identified anticancer natural products, especially those with multiple molecular targets. Papers (Original Research articles or Reviews) which discuss the in vitro and in vivo efficacy and pharmacological and toxicological properties of natural products are also welcome to be submitted. Guidelines for the conception and review of submissions As many anticancer drugs working as cytotoxic compounds have non-selective effects annihilating their potential therapeutic benefits, manuscripts are advised to provide evidence of a significant selectivity towards cancer cells (vs. healthy cells). Specifically, if the studied anticancer drug or modality does not target an oncogenic pathway, the authors should make every effort possible to prove that the cytotoxic or cytostatic effects they have identified exhibit selectivity for cancer cells (ideally 1 log difference in EC50 or IC50) vs. non-malignant cells (eg, fibroblasts or primary culture of cells). The authors should also demonstrate the applicability of their anticancer modalities on a minimum of two well-authenticated cancer cell lines (ideally originating from distinct organs/tissues). For manuscripts dealing with plant extracts or other natural substances/compounds, the composition and the stability of the study material must be described in sufficient detail. In particular, for extracts, chromatograms with characterization of the dominating compound(s) are requested. The level of purity must be proven and included. Please refer to the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology, a subset of which concerning general standards in natural product research are applied to all such studies in all sections of Frontiers in Pharmacology.

This Research Topic is part of a series with: Herbal Medicines for Gastrointestinal and Hepatic Diseases - Novel Pharmacological and Toxicological approaches, Volume II Ethnopharmacology deals with the exchange of knowledge about people's use of herbal medicines and their pharmacological effects. The information related to therapeutic agents of plant origin and their toxic effects was preserved by oral tradition as well as recorded in materia medica. Many drugs that are now available on the market have been developed from this valuable information. Today, scientists that specialize in medicinal chemistry use these existing herbal drugs to develop and produce more therapeutically active agents with less toxic side effects. The gastrointestinal tract (GIT) is a multi-organ system, consisting of bacteria, and digestive enzymes that have the capacity of degrading food and other molecules. Diseases associated with this organ system include peptic ulcer, inflammatory bowel disease, gastric cancer to name a few. The liver receives seventy percent of its blood supply from the GIT via the hepatic portal vein. The disruption in the gut–liver axis is associated with liver diseases including alcohol-associated liver disease (ALD), non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), and autoimmune liver disease (AILD). NAFLD can cause non-alcoholic steatohepatitis, which can develop into liver cirrhosis through inflammation and fibrosis. Liver cirrhosis is categorized as an end-stage of chronic liver disease, which impairs innate immunity-related genes. Growing evidence from preclinical studies proposes that the gut–liver axis leads to targeted therapeutic modalities for various liver injuries. Therefore, therapeutic treatment of these conditions is essential to prevent progression to these more harmful late-stage diseases.