Gauri Saxena

Medicinal plants have served as the foundation of healthcare across cultures for centuries, yet their safety is increasingly undermined by heavy metal and pesticide contamination driven by industrial growth, agrochemical misuse and environmental degradation. Despite widespread concern, the field remains fragmented. Contamination data are scattered across taxa and regions. The link between pollutant bioaccumulation and loss of medicinal potency is rarely explored mechanistically. Moreover, human health risk assessments tailored to herbal consumers remain largely absent from regulatory conversations. This review brings these threads together. It traces how heavy metals including Pb, Cd, As, Hg, Cr and Ni along with pesticide residues enter medicinal plants, disrupt their physiology, impair secondary metabolite production and ultimately reach human consumers. “Five widely consumed medicinal genera Ocimum, Mentha, Glycyrrhiza, Catharanthus and Withania are examined as illustrative models”. Each offers a distinct perspective on species-specific bioaccumulation patterns, providing a comparative framework rarely found in existing literature. Crucially, this review connects plant level stress responses to real world health outcomes, critically evaluating risk assessment tools such as EDI, HQ, HI and Cancer Risk models within the underexplored context of habitual herbal product use. Detection technologies, regulatory standards and mitigation strategies are assessed with equal rigor. The need for this review is urgent. The absence of unified monitoring frameworks and taxon-specific safety thresholds leaves billions of herbal medicine users inadequately protected. This work provides a consolidated, actionable foundation for researchers, regulators and clinicians working toward safer, evidence-based herbal therapeutics. Graphical abstract

Air pollution has emerged as a serious global issue driven by rapid urbanization and industrialization. This study aims to evaluate the air quality of Lucknow, a fast-growing city in North India, using lichen Pyxine cocoes (Sw.) Nyl. Lichen specimens collected from the relatively unpolluted area of Malihabad were transplanted for 30 days at 10 sites in Lucknow City with varying traffic volumes. The concentrations of potentially toxic elements (Fe, Al, Mn, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni, Cr, Co, and Cd) were determined using an ICP-MS, while PAHs were examined through HPLC. Additionally, the physiological status of the lichen specimen was assessed by analyzing chlorophyll content, chlorophyll degradation, and photosynthetic efficiency (F_v/F_m). A total of 15 PAHs were detected in the transplanted lichens with molecular weights varying from 0.006-6.265 μg g^-1 (low), 0.001-17.027 μg g^-1 (medium), and 3.957-20.862 μg g^-1 (high). In contrast, significantly increased amounts of potentially toxic elements such as iron (4.42-5.38 μg L^-1), aluminum (3.52-4.38 μg L^-1), manganese (99.42-136.35 μg g^-1), and zinc (77.67-83.82 μg g^-1) were detected in sites Alambagh Chauraha, IT crossing and Polytechnic Chauraha. In all the specimens, chlorophyll a (5.17 μg L^-1), chlorophyll b (2.21 μg L^-1), and total chlorophyll (7.38 μg L^-1) were significantly decreased and degraded (0.53 μg g^-1). The results once again demonstrate that transplanted P. cocoes as a sensitive and reliable bioindicator of PAHs and potentially toxic elements induced air pollution in Lucknow City.

This paper deals with the foliar epidermal anatomy of 25 species belonging to 14 genera (i.e., Bauhinia, Caesalpinia, Cassia, Delonix, Guilandina, Hardwickia, Libidibia, Lysiphyllum, Parkinsonia, Peltophorum, Phanera, Saraca, Senna and Tamarindus) of subfamily Caesalpinioideae (Leguminosae) using light microscopy (LM). The target species were collected from different regions (Terai Region, Gangetic Plain, Vindhyan Region and Semiarid region) of Uttar Pradesh, India. Several leaf micromorphological characters such as anticlinal wall pattern, epidermal cells shape, stomatal complex andtrichomes were assessed in the present study. Both quantitatively and qualitativelystudy revealed that species understudy mostly consisted of polygonal epidermal cells with straight anticlinal walls, were amphi stomatic with paracytic stomata, non-glandular and unicellular trichomes. An attempt was also made to establish phylogenetic relationships in members of Caealpinioideae growing in Uttar Pradesh on the basis of these characters.

With the global death toll nearing 3.3 million, India being amongst the top 4 countries, the condition is more than fearsome. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends one doctor per 1000 population ratio, but India lags it by one doctor to 1456 people, which sets a lot of pressure on the healthcare system. Traditional remedies are becoming increasingly popular in India as a result of the lack of a proper medical system. Due to the rich diversity of medicinal herbs and drugs, India has been managing health issues with its 5000 years old medication system. Amidst all this, the traditional medicine system has given relief to plenty of diseases and remains the primary defence system against COVID-19. Therefore, COVID-19 is also managed by its different medicinal systems, which are collectively known as the AYUSH regime. It had been a recognized system to tackle diseases in the past. In this mini-review, we performed a deep study of the Indian traditional medicine system in managing the COVID-19 situation.

Antibiotic resistance poses a serious threat to public health, raising the number of diseases in the community. Recent research has shown that plant-derived phenolic compounds have strong antimicrobial, antifungal, and cytotoxic properties against a variety of microorganisms and work as great antioxidants in such treatments. The goal of the current work is to evaluate the anticancerous, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidant, and cytotoxicity activities in the extracts of the different plant parts (leaves, stems, and roots) ofS. carvifolia(L.) L. This is a medicinally important plant and has been used for different kinds of diseases and ailments such as hysteria and seizures. The phenolic compounds from the different plant parts were analyzed using HPLC and the following were found to be present: chlorogenic acid, gallic acid, rutin, syringic acid, vanillic acid, cinnamic acid, caffeic acid, and protocatechuic acid. Gallic acid was found to have the highest concentration (13.93 mg/g), while chlorogenic acid (0.25 mg/g) had the lowest. The maximum TPC value, which ranged from 33.79 to 57.95 mg GAE/g dry extract weight, was found in the stem. Root extract with 9.4 mg RE/g had the greatest TFC level. In the leaf and stem extracts, the RSC ranged from 0.747 mg/mL to 0.734 mg/1 mL GE/g dry extract weight, respectively. The 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay was used to measurein vitroantioxidant activity. In a concentration-dependent way, promising antioxidant activity was reported. Moreover, 3,5-dinitrosalicylic acid (DNSA) and the Folin–Ciocalteu phenol reagent technique were used to determine reducing sugar content and total phenolic content, respectively. Antibacterial activity against eight strains (MIC: 250–1,000 μg/mL) was analyzed, and the stem extract exhibited maximum activity. Antifungal activity was also assessed, and potent activity was reported especially in the extract obtained from the stem. Cytotoxicity was evaluated using an MTT assay in the A549 cell line, where different doses (0.0625, 0.125, 0.25, 0.5, and 1 mg/mL) of leaf, root, and stem extracts were used. Treatment with these extracts reduced the cell viability, indicating thatS. carvifoliamay possess anticancer potential, which can be of great therapeutic value.

Kaempferia, a genus of the family Zingiberaceae, is widely distributed with more than 50 species which are mostly found throughout Southeast Asia. These plants have important ethnobotanical significance as many species are used in Ayurvedic and other traditional medicine preparations. This genus has received a lot of scholarly attention recently as a result of the numerous health advantages it possesses. In this review, we have compiled the scientific information regarding the relevance, distribution, industrial applications, phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, tissue culture and conservation initiative of the Kaempferia genus along with the commercial realities and limitations of the research as well as missing industrial linkages followed by an exploration of some of the likely future promising clinical potential. The current review provides a richer and deeper understanding of Kaempferia, which can be applied in areas like phytopharmacology, molecular research, and industrial biology. The knowledge from this study can be further implemented for the establishment of new conservation strategies.

Insect pests impose a serious threat to agricultural productivity. Initially, for pest management, several breeding approaches were applied which have now been gradually replaced by genome editing (GE) strategies as they are more efficient and less laborious. CRISPR/Cas9 (Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeat/CRISPR-associated system) was discovered as an adaptive immune system of bacteria and with the scientific advancements, it has been improvised into a revolutionary genome editing technique. Due to its specificity and easy handling, CRISPR/Cas9-based genome editing has been applied to a wide range of organisms for various research purposes. For pest control, diverse approaches have been applied utilizing CRISPR/Cas9-like systems, thereby making the pests susceptible to various insecticides, compromising the reproductive fitness of the pest, hindering the metamorphosis of the pest, and there have been many other benefits. This article reviews the efficiency of CRISPR/Cas9 and proposes potential research ideas for CRISPR/Cas9-based integrated pest management. CRISPR/Cas9 technology has been successfully applied to several insect pest species. However, there is no review available which thoroughly summarizes the application of the technique in insect genome editing for pest control. Further, authors have highlighted the advancements in CRISPR/Cas9 research and have discussed its future possibilities in pest management.

Background: Pinus and other related conifers belonging to family pinaceae are most commonly used medicinal plants in Indian North-western Himalayas. Various parts of these plants including needles are source of several well known alkaloids. Of all the alkaloids, piperidine group is one of important component and hold considerable medicinal importance. Methods: The group of alkaloids was initially identified from genus Piper through which a large variety of piperidine molecules have been extracted. The planar structure of this heterocyclic nucleus enables acetamide groups to be added at various ring configurations. Results: In the area of drug research, the piperidine heterocycle has gained considerable interest. To produce a new therapeutic profile, the broad range of its therapeutic application paved the way for researchers to implant the nucleus from time to time in diversified pharmacophores. Discussion: However, biological functions of piperidine metabolites have been mostly examined on a limited scale and that most of the findings are thus preliminary. We have tried to present different clinical applications of piperidine alkaloids in this study that researchers have already attempted to demystify from time to time. Conclusion: Given the importance of the piperidine nucleus, the study will enable the researcher to produce scaffolds of the highest therapeutic efficacy. We have also illustrated different types of piperidine, its sources in different member of family pinaceae with special emphasis on Pinus.