Relevance of personalized medicine for improving traditional medicine

Traditional medicine encompasses the knowledge and practices based on the theories and experiences of different indigenous cultures, whether explicable or not, used to maintain physical and mental health (i.e., prevent, diagnose, improve) [1]. The clinical response and safety of traditional medicine are also subject to interindividual variability, which has been poorly studied. In fact, herbal remedies are substrates of cytochrome P450 and other proteins (i.e., enzymes, transporters, and drug receptors) [2] with recognized pharmacogenetic biomarkers. Indeed, personalized medicine is of great importance for improving traditional medicine, and that was the theme of the last meeting of the Ibero-American Network of Pharmacogenetics and Pharmacogenomics (RIBEF): “Pharmacogenetics: ethnicity, treatment, and health in Latin American populations,” held on March 28th, 2023, in Mexico City, Mexico [3]. Therefore, Drug Metabolism and Personalized Therapy (DMPT) is open to submission in this regard.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Fernanda-Rodrigues Soares has done an interview with Dr. Urs Meyer as a part of the section “Tribute to Leaders in Pharmacogenetics.” We will post the link soon so that you can see the interview and read the biography of this distinguished scientist.

This third issue of DMPT contains nine articles covering both pharmacogenetic studies and articles on traditional medicine. The issue contains four original articles dealing with pharmacogenetics in various diseases and the education in the field: Sychev and colleagues reported the association of SLCO1B1 genetic variants with dry cough secondary to enalapril [4]. The group of Denisenko N.P. observed the relation of genetic variants with adverse effects of radioiodine therapy in patients with thyroid cancer [5]. Anand et al. have developed and validated an algorithm for genotype-guided warfarin dosing in the Indian population [6]. Jarrar and colleagues reported the lack of exposure to pharmacogenomic education among students of health care from Palestine [7].

Three articles published in this issue examined the benefits of traditional medicine. The article by Raina et al. reviewed the potential benefits of Ayurvedic herbs for solving aging-related problems [8]. The group of Tasneem Parapur S. reported on the evaluation of Terminalia chebula Retz. fruit powder mixed with vinegar to treat tinea corporis [9], while Hedaoo and colleagues investigated the antiarthritic activity of the Ayurvedic herbal formulation Abha Guggulu in patients with osteoarthritis [10].

Finally, two articles in this issue contributed to the knowledge of the treatment and management of COVID-19. Chandra Reddy et al. reported the beneficial effects of Ayurvedic medicines in treating COVID-19 symptoms during Omicron variant infection in a North Indian population [11], and a real-world study on the safety, immunogenecity, and efficacy of ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine in India was evaluated by the group of Chavan [12].