Effect of Abiotic Stresses and Adaptation Strategies of Medicinal Plants

Abstract

AbstractThe significance of medicinal plants for humans have been established since ancient times for curing diseases and ailments of themselves and domesticated animals based on their traditional knowledge. In recent years, the demand for medicinal plants has been increased and resulted in their enhanced cultivation. However, the production of medicinal plants is generally affected by biotic and abiotic stresses. Abiotic stresses like salinity, drought, cold, heavy metals etc. are the major constraints which affect the plant biomass production and subsequently their significant metabolite production. Under stress conditions, medicinal plants adapt and exhibit different physiological and molecular responses to cope with these stresses, and it is direly needed to understand these responses to overcome the issue. This study presents the information about some important medicinal plants and their uses and responses under variable stress conditions. Furthermore, different long-term and short-term strategies like plant breeding, genetic engineering and application of different chemicals and hormones have been summarized to overcome the issue of abiotic stress.KeywordsAbiotic stressMedicinal plantsSecondary metabolitesPhysiological responsesMolecular responses