Chapter 10 - Proteomics research in aromatic plants and its contribution to the nutraceuticals and pharmaceutical outcomes

Abstract

Aromatic plants are regularly used as traditional medicines due to their curative and essential therapeutic properties. Aromatic plants are mostly utilized for cooperative therapeutic action preserving many diseases and it has a very long history globally and for odorous, volatile essential oil extraction for applications in different industries, such cosmetics, food additive and fragrance, insecticides, repellents and functional food and beverages. To explore the mechanism underlying the pharmacological action of herbs, proteomics science has been used to study the functioning of medicinal plants and their effects on other organisms to understand the mechanism involved in the pharmacological and nutraceutical nature of plants. Proteomics platforms give the advantage of combining an inclusive collection of physiological changes both for aromatic plants and other organisms that consume or exposed to the plants or their products. The process of enzyme identification has helped clarify the sophisticated biogenesis pathways of plant bioactive compounds. Responses of the organism treated with aromatic and medicinal plant-derived products were shown to include various biological processes in the organs, tissues, or organisms exposed to the aromatic plant. Proteomics is an essential and inevitable aspect in plant biology which can help with rendering the functions of the genes in the plant of interest. Furthermore, the study of proteome changes can lead to explain the natural phenomena of plant development and their response to environmental changes. This chapter will focus on the aromatic and medicinal plant research and covers the contribution of proteomics research in medicinal plant growth and cultivation, the biotic and abiotic stress and therapeutic properties. Moreover, the chapter will highlight the respond of different cells, tissues and organs on the aromatic plant products or extracts.