Natural Anti-Inflammatory Products/Compounds: Hopes and Reality
1University of Naples Federico II, Naples, Italy
2University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Natural Anti-Inflammatory Products/Compounds: Hopes and Reality
Description
Inflammation is a complex biological response to injury as a result of different stimuli such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is considered a protective measure taken by the organism to remove harmful stimuli and to begin the healing process. In this scenario, local signals at the sites of inflammation mediate rapid cell recruitment and dictate differentiation programs whereby these cells drive clearance of inflammatory inducers and promote tissue homeostasis restoration. However, persistent inflammatory stimuli or disregulation of mechanisms of the restoration phase can lead to chronic inflammation.
Nowadays, the commercially approved anti-inflammatory drugs mainly used for such condition are represented by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), glucocorticoids (SAID), and in some cases immunosuppressant and/or biological drugs. These agents are effective for the relief of the main inflammatory symptoms. However, they induce severe side effects, whereas, most of them, are inadequate for chronic use.
In this context, the demand of new effective and safely anti-inflammatory drugs has furthered research into new therapeutic approaches. The recent and emerging scientific community slant is oriented to the herbal medicines, since, from the Ancient time, they represent a treasure for the discovery of new active compounds and for the development of new drugs and potentially useful therapeutic agents. This research direction is greatly supported by a remarkable amount of preclinical and clinical investigations that highlight the effectiveness of different plant extract and/or plant secondary metabolites in reducing tissue inflammation in vivo and in modulating molecular pathways involved in inflammatory responses in vitro.
Starting from these premises we would be pleased to invite investigators to submit original research papers and/or review articles that will stimulate the continuing efforts to (i) study the anti-inflammatory properties of active natural-derived compounds and/or botanical extracts using several experimental models of inflammation, both in vivo and in vitro; (ii) deepen the pathways involved in their displayed effects; and (iii) evaluate the translation feasibility of the preclinical studies into the clinical attention, considering the well-known safety profile of natural products.
Potential topics include, but are not limited to:
- Elucidation of the role/mechanism of plant-derived metabolites or botanical extracts during acute and/or chronic inflammation
- Identification of new natural compounds as functional regulators of inflammatory cells
- Investigation of the inflammation preventive potential of natural products and related synthetic entities