ABSTRACT
Since time immemorial, medicinal plants have been the most significant part of agro-ecosystems and the natural environment. The presence of chemical compounds known as secondary metabolites and including glycosides, essential oils, alkaloids, and various other active substances, and their uses in the medicinal system makes them most valuable. However, the ever-changing environmental conditions with excessive resource utilization to fulfil the demands of an increasing population and climatic transformations have affected every component of the environment. Air, water, and soil have become severely polluted and have altered the production and growth of vegetation. Environmental pollution has been recognized as a major global problem with serious consequences for the sustainability of ecosystems as well as the quality of life and economic performance of human communities. The sensitivity and response of plants to air pollutants vary among species and they are affected by the climatic condition, the physiochemical characteristics, and residence time of pollutants in the atmosphere. This alteration may be in the form of oxidative stress or changes in plant natural resilient properties against environmental pollution. The contaminants – viz. heavy metals, pesticide residue, fumigants, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, mycotoxins – can accumulate during growth, cultivation, storage, and processing of medicinal herbs that not only affect the quality of medicine produced but also consumer health. Chapter 1 highlights the possible impacts of different environmental pollution and climate change on the growth and metabolism of important medicinal plants.
