Phytochemicals in Modern Medicine: Health Benefits and Toxicological Considerations - Volume II

Building on the success of “Phytochemicals in Modern Medicine: Health Benefits and Toxicological Considerations”, we are pleased to launch Volume II, with a sharpened focus on infectious diseases and the mechanistic basis of disease pathogenesis and therapy.Phytochemicals—bioactive compounds naturally produced by plants, including flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenoids, and polyphenols—have attracted increasing interest as candidate anti-infective and host-directed therapeutics. Beyond broad antimicrobial activity, many phytochemicals appear to modulate key host–pathogen interaction pathways that determine infection outcomes, such as innate immune sensing, inflammatory signalling, oxidative stress responses, epithelial and endothelial barrier integrity, and immunometabolic reprogramming.A major unmet need in the field is a more mechanistic and pathogen-aware understanding of how phytochemicals influence pathogenic factors and their contributions to disease. Many clinically important pathogens deploy virulence determinants that drive tissue injury and persistence—e.g., adhesins and invasion factors, toxins, immune evasion mechanisms, biofilm formation, intracellular survival strategies, and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pathways. Emerging evidence suggests phytochemicals may interfere with these processes by attenuating quorum sensing, disrupting biofilms, inhibiting virulence gene expression, altering microbial membrane integrity, or reshaping host inflammatory damage—yet the molecular targets, reproducibility, and translational relevance remain inconsistent across studies.In parallel, translational progress is limited by critical uncertainties in dose–response behavior, therapeutic windows, pharmacokinetics and bioavailability, and toxicological liabilities (including organ toxicity, immunotoxicity, and herb–drug interactions). This is particularly important in infectious diseases, where adjunctive phytochemicals may be co-administered with antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, antiparasitics, immunotherapies, and supportive care pathways, raising the stakes for clinically meaningful synergy—or harmful antagonism.This Research Topic aims to address these gaps by bringing together mechanistic, experimental, and patient-relevant evidence on how phytochemicals impact disease pathogenesis, pathogenic factors, and clinical management of infection, while rigorously evaluating safety and toxicity. We welcome original research and reviews that clarify biological determinants of infection, define molecular targets in both host and pathogen, and support rational development of phytochemical-based or phytochemical-inspired interventions for infectious diseases.Themes of interest include (but are not limited to):• Pathogenic factors and virulence mechanisms modulated by phytochemicals (e.g., toxins, adhesins, invasion, immune evasion, intracellular persistence).• Host–pathogen interaction pathways and mechanistic contributions to disease pathogenesis (e.g., PRR signalling, cytokine networks, inflammasome activation, immunometabolism, barrier dysfunction, immunopathology).• Anti-biofilm and anti–quorum sensing mechanisms, and links to chronic or device-associated infections.• Mechanisms relevant to AMR, including phytochemical effects on resistance pathways, efflux pumps, permeability, tolerance/persister biology, and antibiotic potentiation.• Synergistic or antagonistic interactions with standard-of-care anti-infectives and immunomodulatory therapies (with mechanistic substantiation).• Experimental models (in vitro, organoids, animal models) and patient-level investigations that connect mechanistic findings to infection outcomes.• Dose–response relationships, therapeutic/toxic thresholds, pharmacokinetics, bioavailability, formulation, and delivery strategies.• Toxicological and safety assessments, including organ toxicity, immunotoxicity, genotoxicity, and clinically relevant herb–drug interactions.• Translational studies and clinical trials evaluating phytochemicals as adjunctive or standalone therapies in infectious diseases.We welcome contributions that advance a mechanism-first, pathogenesis-centred understanding of phytochemicals in infectious diseases and support their safe, evidence-based integration into modern therapeutic strategies. Topic editors: Cristian Scheau, Constantin Caruntu, Aleksandra Buha Djordjevic, Brankica Filipić Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78698/phytochemicals-in-modern-medicine-health-benefits-and-toxicological-considerations---volume-ii