Recently, Dr. Yao Ruyu from the Yunnan International Joint Laboratory of Health Plant Resources Development (HPRD LAB), Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences (KIB), together with Researchers Massimo Lucarini and Alessandra Durazzo from the CREA-Research Centre for Food and Nutrition in Italy, published an editorial for a research topic in the internationally renowned journal Frontiers in Pharmacology (IF=4.8). As the core organizer and corresponding author of the research topic, Dr Yao Ruyu systematically summarized the current research status and application prospects of food-derived bioactive metabolites, providing important academic support for the modern transformation of the traditional wisdom of the "food-medicine continuum". This journal's research topic compiles 18 high-quality global research findings, covering studies on characteristic food-medicinal plants from Asia, Africa, Europe, and other regions, attracting widespread attention from the international academic community.
The concept of the "food-medicine continuum" transcends geographical and cultural boundaries, representing a profound accumulation of health wisdom in human civilization. Dr. Yao Ruyu's team has long been engaged in the research and development of health plant resources. The research topic led by the team, titled "Food-Derived Bioactive Metabolites: Unlocking their Potential Health Benefits and Medical Potential", aims to integrate global ethnopharmacological research forces to decipher the mechanisms of action and application bottlenecks of food-derived bioactive components.
The research topic covers a full-chain exploration from traditional food ingredients to modern functional foods: In terms of regional characteristic plant research, it focuses on distinctive species such as Asian Colocasia affinist, Colocasia gigantea, Himalayan alpine Sinopodophyllum hexandrum, African Sclerocarya birrea, and Elsholtzia species from Northern Thailand. Using techniques such as nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and network pharmacology, a variety of bioactive components with antidiarrheal, anti-inflammatory, anti-tumor, and anti-glycation activities have been isolated and identified. In the research on globally common food ingredients, the pharmacological properties of citrus peel flavonoids, pomegranate peel polyphenols, and Monascus purpureus Went bioactive metabolites have been systematically analyzed, providing scientific evidence for the health value of daily diets. In the research on specific bioactive compounds, the therapeutic potential and delivery technology innovations of classic components such as luteolin, resveratrol, and royal jelly acid (10-HDA) in the treatment of pulmonary diseases, retinal diseases, cancer, and metabolic syndrome have been thoroughly explored.
Notably, the research topic also incorporates the achievements of modernization research on traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), including the development of compound Ganoderma lucidum hepatoprotective effervescent granules and the multi-target mechanisms of natural medicines derived from TCM for cardiovascular diseases, offering a new pathway for the integration of traditional TCM and modern medicine. Meanwhile, different research teams within the topic have discussed the important role of plant-based diets in the prevention and treatment of chronic kidney disease from a sustainability perspective, responding to the dual global demands of health and ecological protection.
Through interdisciplinary and cross-regional research integration, this topic has constructed a complete research framework of "traditional knowledge - component identification - mechanism research - application development", providing important references for future innovative breakthroughs in related fields. Relevant research findings have been published collectively in Frontiers series journals, and the full texts can be accessed through the journal's official website (https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/65304/food-derived-bioactive-metabolites-unlocking-their-potential-health-benefits-and-medical-potential).