Editorial: Rising stars in ethnopharmacology: 2021
Ulrike Grienke, Francesca Scotti, Judith Maria Rollinger · Frontiers in Pharmacology · 2023
This Research Topic wishes to promote the high quality and diverse work of internationally recognized and up-and-coming researchers in the earlier stages of their career in the field of ethnopharmacology.The Research Topic provides a dedicated platform for these researchers to present and discuss their findings, with the purpose of highlighting novel outcomes and opening up routes for future directions in the broad field of ethnopharmacology.The four original articles and the three reviews collected offer a potpourri of highlights on the stunning diversity of topics within ethnopharmacology.The original articles present pharmacological results (in vitro and in vivo), as well as analytical studies (for quality control) investigating extracts and thereof isolated compounds for the rationalization of the traditional use of herbal drugs.The rising stars in ethnopharmacology include authors from different countries/continents including Greece, Austria, Germany, Ghana, and Benin, thereby reflecting the longstanding popularity and tradition of the ethnopharmacological use of herbal drugs in the respective countries.The ethnopharmacological use of Momordica charantia L. (Cucurbitaceae), the bitter gourd or bitter melon, its constituents (in particular cucurbitane-type triterpenoids) and their pharmacological effects against diabetes-related conditions, as well as potential adverse effects, are the topic of the mini review by Çiçek.The author highlighted the need to make a distinction between different diabetes-related activities, including unspecified hypoglycemic effects, compounds enhancing glucose uptake, targeting glucose absorption or production, stimulating insulin secretion, and compounds targeting insulin resistance.In addition, aspects of quality control and issues of standardization of commercial products are discussed.Tsioutsiou et al. reviewed the ethnopharmacological application of medicinal plants against skin diseases in the South Balkan and East Mediterranean region.In their work, the authors extracted relevant information out of more than 120 ethnobotanical studies, including a detailed statistical analysis regarding the taxonomic distribution of used plant species over more than 100 families.Concerning the application of the plant materials against skin disorders, the authors distinguished between internal and external use and also listed specific indications reported in the investigated studies, such as burns, hemorrhoids, or furuncles.The work concludes that in comparing the obtained results with