Minerals have been used in traditional medicine since ancient times and are still in use today. In traditional Indian medicine, the Ayurveda Pharmacopeia states that 8% of the recipes contain 15 kinds of minerals (metals) and Bhasmas are unique Ayurvedic metallic preparations. In traditional Chinese medicine, at least 10 minerals are listed in 1500 traditional recipes, and 7% of the recipes contain cinnabar (α-HgS) and/or realgar (As4S4). Zuotai, a mineral mixture mainly with β-HgS, is included in hundreds of Tibetan medicines.

One of the major challenges facing traditional medicine containing minerals is differences in mineral processing/preparation that distinguish them from environmental metals. Additionally, many preparations are polyherbal-metallic preparations, increasing their complexity as minerals are not used alone. There is also a need for meta-analyses investigating their therapeutic efficacy in clinical use. Furthermore, toxicity and therapy go hand-in-hand for these preparations and there exists a need to maintain a subtle balance of benefit and risk on an individual basis. Finally, new mechanistic approaches to elucidate the pharmacological basis of mixtures need to be thoroughly understood.

The aim of this Special Issue is to collate original research and review articles dealing with minerals in traditional medicine. We are interested in articles that explore aspects of mineral/metal-containing traditional medicines in treating refractory diseases with efficacy and tolerance during therapy. Research articles that examine mineral processing, polyherb-metallic composition, pharmacology, and toxicology are highly welcomed.

Potential topics include but are not limited to the following:

• Mineral preparation, Q/A, composition in traditional remedies
• Clinical efficacy and safety of mineral-containing traditional medicines
• Experimental papers, including in vitro and in vivo approaches
• Toxicology and risk assessment of herbo-metallic preparations
• Mechanistic studies, including molecular approaches, gene expression, proteomics, gut microbiota, and in silico studies including network pharmacology