Medicinal plants fermentation: current knowledge and perspectives

Fermentation improves medicinal plants in functional foods, nutraceuticals, and phytomedicine. Many plants have bioactive compounds trapped in complex matrices, limited by low bioavailability, toxins, anti-nutritional compounds, bitterness, astringency, and/or off-flavors. Recent studies show fermentation enhances plant value through bioactivity modulation, detoxification, safety, and sensory optimization. Effects are achieved via the release of bound phytochemicals, polyphenol transformation, new metabolites, reduction of toxins, microbe control, and reshaping of aroma and taste. Emerging systems like moringa, noni, and chaga show microbial biotransformation that addresses substrate challenges and supports product development. However, raw material variability, inconsistent protocols, unclear mechanisms, and limited validation restrict progress. Future studies should emphasize standardized systems, multi-omics-based mechanism analysis, host and microbiome evaluation, precision fermentation, and product design with regulatory considerations. Overall, fermentation provides a promising framework for functional products with improved bioactivity, safety, sensory quality, and translational potential.