Translational agricultural medicine: A conceptual framework linking plant science, nutrition, and preventive medicine

Agricultural sciences and medicine are converging toward a shared mechanistic framework that links plant biology to human health. This editorial proposes Translational Agricultural Medicine (TAM) as a conceptual and hypothesis-generating framework. Translational Agricultural Medicine positions plant molecular responses, particularly stress-induced redox regulation and phytochemical biosynthesis, as biologically relevant factors that may inform preventive nutrition and translational health research. Evidence from plant stress biology, including redox networks, parallels key biochemical processes underlying metabolic disorders and cancer in humans. Plant-derived bioactives, such as glucosinolates and phenolics, as well as legume proteins, further illustrate how agricultural variables influence the nutritional and biochemical properties of diets relevant to health outcomes. Climate-driven changes in crop physiology reinforce the need to align breeding and agroecological management with public health priorities. Collectively, this perspective reframes plants not as passive dietary components but as upstream contributors to the nutritional modulation of human metabolism, positioning climate-resilient crops and targeted dietary strategies as important components of future preventive health approaches.