Natural Products as Next-Generation Antimicrobials: Addressing Antimicrobial Resistance through Ethnopharmacology, Molecular Biochemistry, and Translational Research

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most urgent global health challenges of the 21st century, threatening the efficacy of existing antibiotics and reversing decades of medical progress. The rapid emergence of multidrug-resistant (MDR) pathogens, coupled with a stagnating antibiotic discovery pipeline, highlights the need for innovative, multidisciplinary strategies to identify and develop new antimicrobial agents with novel mechanisms of action.Natural products, particularly plant-derived compounds, have historically been a cornerstone of anti-infective drug discovery and continue to offer exceptional chemical diversity. Traditional medicinal knowledge, preserved through ethnopharmacological practices, provides an underutilized reservoir of bioactive molecules. Plant secondary metabolites, such as alkaloids, flavonoids, terpenes, and phenolics, exhibit diverse and multi-target antimicrobial mechanisms, including membrane disruption, biofilm inhibition, quorum-sensing interference, and efflux-pump modulation.This Research Topic brings together research at the interface of ethnopharmacology, natural products chemistry, microbiology, and molecular biochemistry to advance the discovery of next-generation antimicrobials.We invite high-quality Original Research articles, Reviews, Mini Reviews, and Systematic Reviews addressing, but not limited to, the following themes:Discovery, isolation, and bioassay-guided identification of antimicrobial natural products, with a focus on antibacterial and antifungal agentsEthnopharmacological and ethnobotanical surveys as frameworks for anti-infective discovery, and pharmacological validation of plant-derived agents grounded in traditional medicinal knowledgeMechanisms of action of antimicrobial natural products, including anti-biofilm activity, anti-virulence strategies, quorum sensing inhibition, and efflux pump modulationStrategies targeting MDR pathogens, including synergistic interactions between natural products and conventional antibioticsMulti-omics applications (metabolomics, genomics, proteomics) and chemoinformatics for target and pathway discovery, as a complementary approach alongside experimental validationDiverse antimicrobial sources beyond plants, including marine organisms, microbial metabolites, and fungi (incl. endophytic ones)In vivo efficacy, safety, pharmacokinetics, and translational development of antimicrobial natural productsPhytochemical standardization, formulation strategies, and sustainable sourcing of antimicrobial natural resourcesPlease note: Contributions involving extracts derived from plants, fungi or any other organism must adhere to the Four Pillars of Best Practice in Ethnopharmacology and the ConPhyMP statement (Front. Pharmacol., 13:953205). Manuscripts must include detailed descriptions of biological material, extraction methods, and processing procedures; submissions lacking these details will be desk-rejected. The full best-practice guidance is available at: https://ga-online.org/best-practice.Authors are encouraged to self-assess their manuscripts using the ConPhyMP tool before submission.Studies involving animal experiments must comply with relevant institutional and national ethical guidelines and report adherence to the 3Rs principles (Replacement, Reduction, and Refinement). Studies involving human subjects must include a statement of institutional ethics committee approval.The following types of submissions fall outside the scope of this Research Topic:Purely in silico studies (e.g., network pharmacology, molecular docking, virtual screening) without experimental validationStudies reporting only chemical antioxidant assays (e.g., DPPH, ABTS) without mechanistic follow-up relevant to antimicrobial activityBibliometric or scientometric analyses Topic editors: Japheth O. Ombito, Smith B. Babiaka, PhD, CHI Godloves FRU, Yunus Başar Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81745/natural-products-as-next-generation-antimicrobials-addressing-antimicrobial-resistance-through-ethnopharmacology-molecular-biochemistry-and-translational-research