Recently, the team of Professor Gong Qihai from our university, together with Dr. Archana Jain and Professor Surendra Sarsaiya, has published an academic monograph entitled “Omics‑driven Research in Medicinal Plants” with CAB International (CABI), a world‑renowned academic publisher in agricultural and life sciences. Zunyi Medical University is the first affiliated institution.
Medicinal plants produce a vast array of specialized metabolites with bioactive properties, many of which can be developed into pharmaceuticals. This book systematically explores the transformative role of omics technologies – genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, metabolomics, and epigenomics – in unlocking the therapeutic potential of medicinal plants.
The monograph comprises ten chapters, covering foundational omics principles, multi‑omics integration, precision breeding, metabolic engineering, transcriptional regulation of high‑value metabolites, omics‑driven drug discovery, climate‑resilient medicinal plants, functional foods and nutraceuticals, ethical bioprospecting and conservation, as well as frontier technologies such as AI, synthetic biology, and omics convergence. It provides a comprehensive and authoritative resource for researchers, policymakers, and industry practitioners in medicinal plant biology, pharmacognosy, and systems biology.
All three authors are affiliated with the Key Laboratory of Basic Pharmacology of the Ministry of Education and the Joint International Research Laboratory of Ethnomedicine of the Ministry of Education at Zunyi Medical University. Professor Gong Qihai, President of Zunyi Medical University, has long been engaged in neuropharmacology and toxicology of traditional Chinese medicine. He has led more than 20 projects including key special projects of the National Key R&D Program, projects of the National Natural Science Foundation of China, and projects of the Ministry of Education. He has published over 200 papers, with more than 100 indexed in SCI, and has been ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists in the field of pharmacy. Dr. Archana Jain and Professor Surendra Sarsaiya have made remarkable contributions to the pharmacological, and phytochemical investigation of natural products and the discovery of bioactive compounds from medicinal plants and their associated microorganisms. He has been ranked among the world’s top 2% of scientists in the field of microbiology.
This publication was supported by the Guizhou Science and Technology Corporation Platform Talents Fund (Grant Nos. [2017]5733‑001 and CK‑1130‑002), the High‑Level Specialists Project Fund of Zunyi Medical University (1092/2000006) F‑1092, and Zunyi Medical University.
The release of this monograph represents another milestone achievement of Zunyi Medical University in the interdisciplinary field of ethnomedicine, omics, and artificial intelligence. The research underpinning the book, including the team’s previous work on multi‑omics mechanisms of natural products published in top journals, provides a solid scientific foundation. In the future, the university will continue to promote the deep integration of traditional medicinal knowledge with modern omics technologies, contributing to innovative drug discovery and global health.
Book Information:
Title: Omics‑driven Research in Medicinal Plants
Authors: Archana Jain, Surendra Sarsaiya, Qihai Gong
Publisher: CAB International (CABI), UK
Publication Date: April 2026
ISBN: 9781836994183 (hardback), 9781836994190 (ePDF), 9781836994206 (ePub)
DOI: 10.1079/9781836994206.0000
