Bridging Traditional Remedies and Modern Pharmacology: Re-connecting Preparation and Chemical Profiles with Biological Mechanisms'.

Natural products and traditional remedies continue to inspire modern drug discovery and development, offering a rich source of structurally diverse and biologically active compounds. Despite their long history of use, the successful translation of these resources into evidence-based therapeutics requires deeper insight into how preparation methods shape chemical composition, how compositional profiles determine functional activity, and how such preparations can be reproducibly characterized and standardized. Of particular importance is the process of preparation itself. Defined processing steps such as extraction, heating, maceration, fermentation, or combination with specific excipients fundamentally influence chemical composition, solubility, stability, and bioavailability. These preparation practices, rooted in accumulated empirical knowledge, are central determinants of therapeutic outcome and represent a core concern of ethnopharmacological research.However, experimental research frequently evaluates isolated compounds or simplified extracts without adequately accounting for preparation-dependent chemistry or the contextual logic underlying their use. Growing evidence indicates that the biological effects of plant-derived medicines often depend on compositional complexity, multi-component interactions, metabolite formation, and route-specific exposure rather than single-molecule potency alone. When preparation context and knowledge frameworks are not considered, challenges arise in reproducibility, compositional standardization, and translational interpretation.This Research Topic examines how ethnopharmacological knowledge of preparation can be integrated with rigorous chemical characterization and functional evaluation to generate reproducible and clinically meaningful evidence for traditionally prepared natural medicines. It aims to clarify how defined preparation processes give rise to specific compositional profiles, how these profiles relate to biological effects, and how such effects can be biologically characterized and consistently reproduced.Rather than emphasizing isolated compound discovery alone, the Topic prioritizes studies that connect traditional preparation practices, chemical composition, and functional activity through to therapeutic relevance. The scope spans ethnopharmacological documentation, analytical investigation, experimental research, and early translational assessment that improve the reliability and interpretability of plant-derived therapeutics while preserving their preparation context and knowledge origins.We invite original research articles and critical reviews exploring, but not limited to:• Ethnopharmacological documentation and comparative evaluation of traditional preparation practices• Influence of preparation method (e.g., decoction, fermentation, oily maceration, thermal processing) on chemical composition and functional activity• Reproducible chemical characterization and preparation-informed standardization strategies for complex botanical preparations• Relationships between compositional complexity, metabolite formation, and observed therapeutic effects• Translational and pharmacokinetic evaluation of preparation-dependent chemical profiles in physiologically relevant modelsContributions employing advanced analytical platforms, metabolomics, multi-omics approaches, and systems-level analysis to investigate composition–function relationships within traditionally prepared medicines are particularly encouraged. Interdisciplinary studies that integrate ethnopharmacological insight with compositional and biological evaluation are strongly supported.This Research Topic seeks to strengthen ethnopharmacology by moving beyond activity reporting toward preparation-aware, compositionally grounded, and therapeutically interpretable evidence. By focusing on preparation-dependent chemistry within its knowledge context, the collection aims to establish reproducible approaches for translating long-standing remedial practices into credible and scientifically robust therapeutic interventions.Author Guidelines Note: Submissions must clearly describe material origin, preparation, and pharmacological rationale. Studies limited to isolated compound screening without contextual or translational relevance are outside the scope. Submissions must adhere to best-practice guidelines for pharmacological studies on plant and fungal extracts and natural products, including the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology and the ConPhyMP statement (Front. Pharmacol. 13:953205). Detailed documentation of material origin, extraction, and processing is essential; manuscripts lacking this information will be desk-rejected. The full guidelines and ConPhyMP self-assessment tool are available at: https://ga-online.org/best-practice/. Topic editors: Maša Knez Marevci, Goran S. Nikolić, Dejan Nikolic Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78600/bridging-traditional-remedies-and-modern-pharmacology-re-connecting-preparation-and-chemical-profiles-with-biological-mechanisms