The Impact of Environmental and Climatic Factors on the Chemistry and Pharmacological Activities of Plant Materials: Challenges for Sustainable Pharmaceutical Use and Development

Plant-derived compounds remain a vital source of pharmacologically active substances used in modern therapeutics and as raw materials for pharmaceutical development. However, changing climate and environmental stressors, including extreme temperatures, drought, pollution, and land-use change, are increasingly altering the chemical composition, bioactivity, and safety of medicinal and food plants. This environmental variability directly impacts the reproducibility of pharmacological effects, dose-response relationships, and toxicological characteristics of plant-derived products. Despite growing interest in sustainability, the pharmacological effects of environmental influences on plant chemistry remain insufficiently integrated into drug research and quality control systems. Addressing these issues is essential to ensuring the efficacy, safety, and regulatory compliance of plant-derived pharmaceuticals, as well as ensuring a reliable and sustainable supply of high-quality raw materials for the pharmaceutical and medical device industries.The aim of this research topic is to present current research on the relationship between environmental change, the sustainability of plant resources, and the pharmacological safety of plant-based products. Climatic and environmental changes affecting plant chemistry and population dynamics increasingly challenge the stability of bioactive compound profiles, leading to variability in the efficacy, safety, and dose-response relationships of herbal medicines and nutritional products. At the same time, regulatory frameworks and pharmacopoeial standards often lag behind these dynamic environmental realities, particularly for species subject to population decline or harvest restrictions but still used in pharmaceutical production.This research topic aims to integrate recent advances in plant metabolomics, pharmacological profiling, environmental monitoring, and quality control to better understand and manage this variability. The integration of experimental pharmacology, translational research, and regulatory sciences aims to identify strategies for sustainable supply, improved standardisation, and evidence-based regulatory decision-making. Ultimately, this topic aims to support the development of safe, effective, and legally compliant plant-derived pharmaceuticals while ensuring the long-term sustainability of plant resources in a changing climate and environment.We invite researchers to submit manuscripts addressing the consequences of environmental and climate change on the chemical composition and pharmacology of medicinal and health food plants. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to:Variability of pharmacologically active metabolites under environmental stress, including studies on efficacy, safety, and dose-response relationships;Decline or other changes (e.g. challenges posed by invasive species) in plant populations and habitats of medicinal and health food plants;Issues related to quality control, standardisation, and compliance with pharmacopoeial standards for herbal raw materials under changing climatic and environmental conditions, including changes in harvest volumes.The topic invites authors to submit original research articles, reviews, mini-reviews, perspective articles, and policy or regulatory papers with a clear link to pharmacological results and pharmaceutical applications.Please note:All studies 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. Topic editors: Olha Mykhailenko, Banaz Jalil, Michael Heinrich, Ruyu Yao Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/79253/the-impact-of-environmental-and-climatic-factors-on-the-chemistry-and-pharmacological-activities-of-plant-materials-challenges-for-sustainable-pharmaceutical-use-and-development