ABSTRACT
Arsenic (As) is a non-threshold carcinogen that is present in nature either in organic or inorganic forms or both. Nowadays, As is a major health concern worldwide and can cause various types of cancer such as skin, lung, brain cancer and other health issues. There is no specific, safe and efficacious treatment developed till date to cure As-induced diseases. In recent past, various studies suggested that medicinal plants (MPs) could be used as treating agents for different acute/chronic diseases and cancer caused by arsenic. In this regard, researchers used extract of different MPs to evaluate their potentiality against As-induced toxicity. The extract of some MPs has potential to reduce As-induced liver toxicity through suppression of NADPH oxidase and TGF-β/Smad pathways, and also enhances the antioxidant activity, chelating efficacy and/or oxidizing capability of As, thereby significantly decreases the level of As from different organs of experimental models. Therefore, it is apparent from various studies that MPs have potential to protect different organs and reduces the level of As from body. Nevertheless, MPs could also be the best phytoremediator of As under proper monitoring and strictly regulatory conditions. Therefore, this chapter could be able to open the ways to do more research on MPs and their mitigative role against As-induced diseases, which will help to develop effective strategies to cure the millions of people suffering from As-induced ailments by locally available MPs of different geographical areas.
