ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the effects of salt stress on germination, growth, development and primary and secondary plant products in some medicinal plants. It also deals with traditional and recent advances in elucidating stress-response mechanisms and their biotechnological applications in cultivation of medicinal plants and a brief of conventional and other techniques to improve productivity under salt stress. Proteomic analysis of medicinal plants also revealed that alkaloid biosynthesis related proteins such as tryptophan synthase, codeinone reductase, strictosidine synthase, and 12-oxophytodienoate reductase might have major role in production of secondary metabolites. As such, proteomics has been used to chapter the expression of salt stress related proteins in several crops. Salt stress significantly affects the production of essential oils, important secondary metabolites and the constituents of medicinal plants. Contradictory reports have emerged concerning the response of medicinal plants in terms of essential oil production under salt stress.
