The present study recorded indigenous knowledge of medicinal plants in Shahrbabak, Iran. We described a method using data mining algorithms to predict medicinal plants\' mode of application. Twenty-oneindividuals aged 28 to 81 were interviewed. Firstly, data were collected and analyzed based on quantitative indices such as the informant consensus factor (ICF), the cultural importance index (CI), and the relative frequency of citation (RFC). Secondly, the data was classified by support vector machines, J48 decision trees, neural networks, and logistic regression. So, 141 medicinal plants from 43 botanical families were documented. Lamiaceae, with 18 species, was the dominant family among plants, and plant leaves were most frequently used for medicinal purposes. The decoction was the most commonly used preparation method (56%), and therophytes were the most dominant (48.93%) among plants. Regarding the RFC index, the most important species are Adiantum capillus-veneris L. and Plantago ovata Forssk., while Artemisia auseri Boiss. ranked first based on the CI index. The ICF index demonstrated that metabolic disorders are the most common problems among plants in the Shahrbabak region. Finally, the J48 decision tree algorithm consistently outperforms other methods, achieving 95% accuracy in 10-fold cross-validation and 70-30 data split scenarios. The developed model detects with maximum accuracy how to consume medicinal plants.

In the new stage of trans-omics and trans-subjects for medicinal plants, it is an urgent need to integrate big data, provide interactive applications, and form a unified and multi-level research system and big data platform. Dao-di medicinal material, as an important source of medicinal plants, is a unique quality concept and comprehensive standard of tranditional Chinese medicine(TCM). Several databases have been developed in China and abroad, such as the Encyclopedia of Traditional Chinese Medicine(ETCM) and the Global Pharmacopoeia Genome Database(GPGD). Yet, most databases do not provide multi-dimensional data, including geographic data, phenotype data, compound data, and genetic data. Sichuan, known as the hometown of TCM therapies and the treasure trove of TCM, is the most representative region of medicinal plant diversity in China. According to the latest data of the fourth national survey of TCM resources, there are more than 8 000 TCM and 86 Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province. Based on resource census data and relevant achievements, this study constructed the bioinformatics database of medicinal plants and the visual analysis platform of production layout by taking the Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province as an example, covering geographic data, phenotype data, compound data, and genetic data. It effectively integrates multi-dimensional data of Dao-di medicinal materials and provides different levels of data interaction applications. The platform is the first large-scale multi-dimensional database and visual platform of Dao-di medicinal materials in Sichuan province, which serves as an essential resource for germplasm resources identification, decomposition of biosynthetic pathways, molecular breeding of varieties and provides medicinal plant resource information and data support for development and utilization of medicinal plants in China and abroad.

BACKGROUND: Herbal products and traditional remedies are commonly used by individuals worldwide for the management of common ailments, even though most are not without risks. Acalypha indica is a popular medicinal plant consumed in some Asian countries.
METHODS: This case report presents a 40-year-old previously unevaluated Sri Lankan female and her 8-year-old son who presented with severe glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD) deficiency related acute intravascular oxidative haemolysis and methaemoglobinaemia precipitated by Acalypha indica consumption, successfully managed with supportive care and blood transfusion.
CONCLUSIONS: This case highlights the potential hemolytic and methaemoglobinaemic effects of ingesting oxidant herbal products and the importance of considering such exposures in patients presenting with hemolysis and multiorgan involvement, particularly in communities where herbal product intake is popular. Healthcare providers should be aware of the risks associated with traditional remedies and maintain a high index of suspicion to ensure prompt recognition and appropriate management.

Herbal medicines (HMs) are one of the main sources for the development of lead antiviral compounds. However, due to the complex composition of HMs, the screening of active compounds within these is inefficient and requires a significant time investment. We report a novel and efficient virus-based screening method for antiviral active compounds in HMs. This method involves the centrifugal ultrafiltration of viruses, known as the virus-based affinity ultrafiltration method (VAUM). This method is suitable to identify virus specific active compounds from complex matrices such as HMs. The effectiveness of the VAUM was evaluated using influenza A virus (IAV) H1N1. Using this method, four compounds that bind to the surface protein of H1N1 were identified from dried fruits of Terminalia chebula (TC). Through competitive inhibition assays, the influenza surface protein, neuraminidase (NA), was identified as the target protein of these four TC-derived compounds. Three compounds were identified by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (LC/MS), and their anti-H1N1 activities were verified by examining the cytopathic effect (CPE) and by performing a virus yield reduction assay. Further mechanistic studies demonstrated that these three compounds directly bind to NA and inhibit its activity. In summary, we describe here a VAUM that we designed, one that can be used to accurately screen antiviral active compounds in HMs and also help improve the efficiency of screening antiviral drugs found in natural products.

Ophiopogonis Radix (OR) is a traditional Chinese medicine. In recent years, in order to achieve the purpose of drying, bleaching, sterilizing and being antiseptic, improving appearance, and easy storage, people often use sulfur fumigation for its processing. However, changes in the chemical composition of medicinal herbs caused by sulfur fumigation can lead to the transformation and loss of potent substances. Therefore, the development of methods to rapidly reveal the chemical transformation of medicinal herbs induced by sulfur fumigation can guarantee the safe clinical use of medicines. In this study, a combined full scan-parent ions list-dynamic exclusion acquisition-diagnostic product ions analysis strategy based on UHPLC-LTQ-Orbitrap MS was proposed for the analysis of steroidal saponins and their transformed components in sulfur-fumigated Ophiopogonis Radix (SF-OR). Based on precise mass measurements, chromatographic behavior, neutral loss ions, and diagnostic product ions, 286 constituents were screened and identified from SF-OR, including 191 steroidal saponins and 95 sulfur-containing derivatives (sulfates or sulfites). The results indicated that the established strategy was a valuable and effective analytical tool for comprehensively characterizing the material basis of SF-OR, and also provided a basis for potential chemical changes in other sulfur-fumigated herbs.

BACKGROUND: Herbal tea usually refers to \"beverage plants that do not belong to the genus Camellia\", and it holds a significant historical legacy as a traditional beverage among specific regions and ethnic groups. In light of this, our research aims to investigate and analyze the traditional knowledge pertaining to herbal tea plants used by local people in the Qianxinan Buyi and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. We also initiated preliminary efforts to create tea products from herbal tea leaves using various processing techniques. Additionally, we attempted to test hypotheses to elucidate how local people select herbal tea plants.
METHODS: Data related to the use of herbal tea plants in this study were collected through semi-structured interviews and participatory observations in four villages in Qianxinan. Quantitative indicators, including the relative frequency of citation (RFC) and the relative importance (RI) value, were calculated, and the availability of plants was also evaluated. General linear model was performed to examine the relationship between the frequency of citation and resource availability, as well as the correlation between the relative frequency of citation and the relative importance, to test both the resource availability hypothesis and the versatility hypothesis. Centella asiatica tea was processed using techniques from green tea, black tea and white tea, with a preliminary sensory evaluation conducted.
RESULTS: A total of 114 plant species were documented as being used for herbal teas by local residents, representing 60 families and 104 genera. Of these, 61% of herbal tea plants were found growing in the wild, and 11 species were exotic plants. The family with the highest number of species was Asteraceae (20 species). The study identified 33 major medicinal functions of herbal tea, with clearing heat-toxin and diuresis being the most common functions. General linear model revealed a strong correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.72, p < 0.001) between the frequency of citation and plant availability, as well as a significant correlation (correlation coefficient of 0.63, p < 0.001) between RFC and RI. Under different processing conditions, the characteristics of Centella asiatica tea exhibited variations and were found to be suitable for consumption.
CONCLUSIONS: The consumption of herbal tea serves as a preventive measure against common ailments for local residents. The resource availability hypothesis, diversification hypothesis and the versatility hypothesis were shown to provide some insight into \"how and why local communities select plants for use.\" Exotic herbal tea plants in the study area also possess valuable therapeutic properties. The processing and production of Centella asiatica herbal tea products hold promising prospects.

BACKGROUND: In recent decades, the study of historical texts has attracted research interest, particularly in ethnopharmacology. All studies of the materia medica cited in ancient and medieval texts share a concern, however, as to the reliability of modern identifications of these substances. Previous studies of European or Mediterranean texts relied mostly on authoritative dictionaries or glossaries providing botanical identities for the historical plant names in question. Several identities they suggest, however, are questionable and real possibility of error exists.
OBJECTIVE: This study aims to develop and document a novel and interdisciplinary methodology providing more objective assessment of the identity of the plants (and minerals) described in these resources.
METHODS: We developed an iterative experimental approach, using the 13th century Byzantine recipe text John the Physician\'s Therapeutics in its Commentary version (JC) as a case study. The methodology has six stages and relies on comparative analyses including statistical evaluation of botanical descriptions and information about medicinal uses drawn from both historical and modern sources. Stages 1-4 create the dataset, stage 5 derives the primary outcomes to be reviewed by experts in stage 6.
RESULTS: Using Disocorides\' De Materia Medica (DMM) (1st century CE) as the culturally related reference text for the botanical descriptions of the plants cited in JC, allowed us to link the 194 plants used medicinally in JC with 252 plants cited in DMM. Our test sample for subsequent analyses consisted of the 50 JC plant names (corresponding to 61 DMM plants) for which DMM holds rich morphological information, and the 130 candidate species which have been suggested in the literature as potential botanical identities of those 50 JC plant names. Statistical evaluation of the comparative analyses revealed that in the majority of the cases, our method detected the candidate species having a higher likelihood of being the correct attribution from among the pool of suggested candidates. Final assessment and revision provided a list of the challenges associated with applying our methodology more widely and recommendations on how to address these issues.
CONCLUSIONS: We offer this multidisciplinary approach to more evidence-based assessment of the identity of plants in historical texts providing a measure of confidence for each suggested identity. Despite the experimental nature of our methodology and its limitations, its application allowed us to draw conclusions about the validity of suggested candidate plants as well as to distinguish between alternative candidates of the same historical plant name. Fully documenting the methodology facilitates its application to historical texts of any kind of cultural or linguistic background.

BACKGROUND: Phytochemical standardization of herbal materials involves establishing consistent levels of one or more active ingredients or markers. It ensures the authenticity and quality of herbal materials, extracts, and their products. This research aimed to apply the herbal chemical marker ranking system (Herb MaRS) originally proposed for quality assurance of complex herbal products to establish markers for controlling the quality of herbal raw materials.
METHODS: The assessment of compounds for suitability as markers was based on the Herb MaRS, with minor modifications as follows: for more objective scoring, evidence of biological activity of the potential marker compound(s) was determined at three levels based on the number of symptoms of the disease condition a compound can treat or alleviate: (i) one symptom (1 point), two symptoms (2 points), and 3 or more symptoms (3 points). The reported concentrations of the compounds were also scored as follows: concentration not determined (0 points), concentration ≥ 5 ppm (1 point), concentration ≥ 50 ppm (2 points) and availability of analytical standards (1 point). Finally, the compounds were scored for the availability of an analytical method (1 point). The compounds were scored from 0 to 8, where 8 indicated the most suitable chemical marker.
RESULTS: The selected markers were as follows: aromadendrine, α-terpineol, globulol, and 1,8-cineol (in Eucalyptus globulus Labill. ); aloin, aloe emodin, acemannan (in Aloe barbadensis (L.) Burm.f. ), lupeol, lupenone, betulinic acid, betulin, and catechin (in Albizia coriaria Oliv.); mangiferin, catechin, quercetin, and gallic acid (in Mangifera indica L.); polygodial (in Warburgia ugandensis Sprague); azadirachtin, nimbin, nimbidin (in Azadirachta indica A. Juss. ); and 6,8,10-gingerols, and 6-shogaol (in Zingiber officinalis Roscoe).
CONCLUSIONS: Herb MaRS can be efficiently applied to select marker compounds for quality control of herbal materials. However, for herbs whose phytochemicals have not been sufficiently researched, it is difficult to establish evidence of activity, and there are no analytical standards and/or methods; this is the case for plants exclusively used in Africa. The markers identified should be incorporated into chromatographic fingerprints, their quantitative methods developed, and evaluated for applicability at the various stages of the production chain of herbal medicines; then, they can be included in future local plant monographs. There is also a need to build local capacity to isolate marker compounds, particularly those that are not sold by current vendors.

In sub-Saharan Africa, traditional medical practitioners also referred to as herbalists, offer diagnostics and therapeutics for diverse medical conditions irrespective of the cause. Given their traditional role as healers and repository of knowledge about medicinal plants, spirituality, customs and religion, people use their services regardless of their location, education, or socio-economic backgrounds. The aim of the study is to explore herbalists´ views and explanations on infertility and women with infertility. Using an exploratory qualitative design, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 10 herbalists, 5 from the North-East region, 2 from Ashanti region and 3 from the Greater Accra region. Following thematic analysis, findings show that infertility has multiple causes - medical, natural, spiritual and lifestyle. Some herbalists stated that everyone was created to bear children while others refuted this notion. They shared the common consensus that not everyone can have children even though they may be medically and spiritually fit. The public should be advised on the need for periodic reproductive health checks. Also, there should be a conscious, concerted efforts to gradually dissociate unhealthy explanations of infertility from the actual empirically proven realities. This would empower society to rise above those entrenched beliefs, thereby reducing the stigma associated with infertility and women with infertility.

The ethnic communities living near protected areas are critically dependent on medicinal plants for their healthcare. Although several ethnomedicinal studies are available from the Himalaya, quantitative studies focusing on protected areas in this region are largely overlooked. In this study, we aimed to document the ethnomedicinal plants of the Overa-Aru wildlife sanctuary in Kashmir Himalaya. We conducted a systematic field survey in the study area during 2020 - 2021 to collect primary data from 110 participants through semi-structured interviews and questionnaires. The data was analyzed using quantitative indices and Pearson\'s correlation. We recorded 64 plant species used against 8 human disease categories, including some first-time reports from the region. Asteraceae and Lamiaceae were the most dominant families and herbs were the dominant growth form. The most common plant part used were leaves, and the main method of preparation was decoction. Plant species with the highest relative frequency of citation was Achillea millifolium (0.83). Informant consensus factor for each disease category ranged from 0.94 to 0.97. We found a strong positive correlation between participants\' age and citations (r = 0.85), but a negative correlation between the participants\' education status and citations (r = - 0.11). Our results revealed that the younger generation possesses the least ethnomedicinal information. We recommend that the species with high use values and fidelity level merit priority in phytochemical and pharmaceutical studies. Our findings highlight that protected areas, besides their prime importance in biodiversity conservation, play a pivotal role in providing the healthcare provisioning ecosystem services to the ethnic communities.