Editorial: Food derived bioactive metabolites: unlocking their potential health benefits and medical potential

'Food and medicine continuum' is common seen in different geographic and biocultural 16 backgrounds, as many of the food derived metabolites are also with health-promoting functions (Yao, 17 et al., 2023). Two decades ago, the study of the edible medicines was recognized as 'an 18 ethnopharmacology of food' as reported by Etkin (2006). In this context, the present Research Topic 19 aims at investigating the intricate relationship between medicines and foods spans across various 20 cultures and traditions. Components isolated from these food-medicines can serve preventative roles, 21 support physiological functions, or act as targeted treatments due to their interaction with specific 22 receptors. Given these overlapping domains, a comprehensive understanding of the scientific potential 23 of food-derived metabolites becomes crucial. therapies could be integrated into cardiovascular care, as a novel multi-target approach., 85People from different cultural backgrounds and biogeographic regions have different strategies for 87 sustaining their lives, most importantly, against hungry and illness. Of these, plants have proven the 88 common substances for food and/or medicine. In this Research Topic, contributors report the plants 89 used in regional level, reveal their active compounds, and indicate their potential health uses. Moreover, 90 several species that shift from local to global are also presented. Therefore, the framework of cross-91 cultural assembly of traditional plant knowledge will bridge the local plant knowledge to benefit global 92 health. Notably, ethnopharmacology is still the reliable approach to demystify the health-promoting 93 mechanism of food-medicinal plants, thus, to proof the 'food and medicine continuum' experimentally. 94 1The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial 96 relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. 97The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. 98This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision. 99Author Contributions 100 All the authors listed made a substantial, direct, and intellectual contribution to the article and approved 101 it for publication. 102 3