Chromatographic and Chemometric Innovations in Authentication and Bioactivity Assessment of Natural Products

The field of natural product analysis has witnessed tremendous progress with the advent of sophisticated analytical and computational tools. Advanced chromatographic methods such as high-performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC), high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), and gas chromatography (GC), coupled with chemometric and data-driven analysis, are now at the forefront of efforts to authenticate natural products, detect adulteration, and establish robust quality reference standards. Despite these technological advances, the complex and variable nature of plant- and organism-derived matrices continues to pose substantial challenges for rigorous quality control and functional characterization. Questions remain regarding the reproducibility and reliability of fingerprint-linked authentication, the optimal chemometric strategies for pattern recognition, and the effective translation of chemical compositional differences to meaningful biological outcomes.Recent studies have demonstrated notable success in profiling secondary metabolites and employing multivariate statistics to distinguish authentic products from adulterated or substandard counterparts. There is growing evidence that integrated approaches—where chemical fingerprints identified through advanced chromatography are systematically correlated with bioactivities such as antioxidant or antibacterial effects—offer a promising path forward. Nevertheless, the field currently lacks standardized workflows and widely accepted protocols that enable reproducible, large-scale deployment of these analytical advances. Furthermore, much remains to be done in functionally annotating complex fingerprints and in robustly validating the links between chemical profiles and health-related properties.This Research Topic aims to showcase innovative research that leverages advanced chromatographic techniques and chemometric tools to address key challenges in the authentication, quality assessment, and bioactivity profiling of natural products. We invite contributions that offer new solutions for the authentication of natural products, adulteration detection, propose or refine quality reference standards, introduce advanced profiling of secondary metabolites, and deepen the mechanistic or functional understanding of how chemical fingerprints relate to therapeutic or health-promoting effects. By advancing these interconnected fronts, this collection seeks to foster methodological harmonization and scientific impact across natural product research, quality control, and evidence-based applications.To gather further insights into the scope of chromatographic and chemometric-driven authentication and bioactivity assessment, we welcome articles addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:- Development and validation of chromatographic fingerprinting techniques for natural product authentication and quality control- Applied chemometric and machine learning approaches in authentication and adulteration detection- Establishment of quality reference standards and guidelines using advanced analytical platforms- Comprehensive secondary metabolite profiling and functional annotation strategies- Integration of chemical fingerprints with biological, pharmacological, or health activity data- Strategies for harmonizing analytical methodologies and data interpretation across laboratories Topic editors: Connie Locher, Md Khairul Islam, Ivan Lozada Lawag Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78589/chromatographic-and-chemometric-innovations-in-authentication-and-bioactivity-assessment-of-natural-products