Medicinal and Aromatic Plants : Current Research Status, Value-addition to Their Waste, and Agro-industrial Potential (Vol I)

Due to complex phytochemical components and associated beneficial properties, numerous medicinal and aromatic plants, in whole or parts, have been used for nutritional purposes or the treatment of various diseases and disorders in humans and animals. Essential oils from medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) have been exploited for product formulations of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, food and beverage, colorants, biopesticides, and several other utility chemicals of industrial importance. There is scientific evidence of many medicinal plant extracts possessing immunomodulatory, immunostimulatory, antidiabetic, anticarcinogenic, antimicrobial, and antioxidant properties, thus demonstrating their traditional use in popular medicine. With the advent of modern technology, the exploitation of natural resources has exponentially increased in order to fulfill the demand of an increased human population with improved quality of life. The traditional agriculture and production-based supply of commodities is inadequate to meet the current demand. Biotechnological approaches are gaining importance to bridge the gaps in demand and supply. In the proposed book, medicinal and aromatic plant-based secondary metabolites have been discussed in terms of their therapeutic potential and industrial relevance. To discuss the qualitative and quantitative analysis of a range of medicinal and aromatic plants-based secondary metabolites (SMs), bioprocess development for their extraction and bioseparation, a brief overview of their industrial relevance, various tissue culturing strategies, biotechnological approaches to enhance production, scale-up strategies, management of residual biomass post extraction of target SMs is central to the idea of the proposed book. A section will explore the verticals mentioned above. In the next section, the book addresses the approaches for conserving and improving medicinal and aromatic plant genetic resources. In the third section, approaches to managing the post-harvest crop residue and secondary metabolites extracted plant biomass will be thoroughly discussed. The recent integration of artificial intelligence to improve medicinal and aromatic plant research at several levels, including the development and employment of computational approaches to enhance secondary metabolite production, tissue culture, drug design and discovery, and disease treatment, will be included in the fourth section. The book summarizes current research status, gaps in knowledge, agro-industrial potential, waste or residual plant biomass management, conservation strategies, and computational approaches in the area of medicinal and aromatic plants with an aim to translate biotechnological interventions into reality.

Lakhan Kumar works toward Environmental Sustainability. He completed his B.Tech. in Biotechnology from the National Institute of Technology, Jalandhar, and his M.Tech. in Industrial Biotechnology from Delhi Technological University, Delhi. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India. His areas of interest include bioenergy, bioprocess engineering, algal biorefinery, plant biotechnology, and remediation of environmental pollutants.

Navneeta Bharadvaja is working as an Assistant Professor at the Department of Biotechnology, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India-110042. She is an accomplished plant biotechnologist. She has more than 16 years of Research and Teaching experience. She has guided 5 Ph.D. students and more than 100 B.Tech./M.Tech./M.Sc Students. She has published more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific articles in the fields of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants, Algal Biotechnology, Bioremediation, and Biofuels.

Ram Singh is currently working as a Professor at the Department of Applied Chemistry, Delhi Technological University, Delhi, India-110042. He has extensive experience in organic synthesis, plants, natural product chemistry, biomimetic chemistry, and chemical biology. He has published over 100 research papers in peer-reviewed journals, authored eight books, 20 book chapters, and 31 Modules for ePG-Pathshala, and contributed to more than 100 conferences. He has supervised 6 Ph.D. and 10 M.Tech students. His research has been funded by DST, CSIR, and DRDO, and he has carried out several projects in the area of natural product chemistry. He is on the Editorial Advisory Board of various journals of repute and is a Life Member of various societies.

Raksha Anand works on the development of algal nutraceuticals and waste and biomass valorization. She completed her B.Sc. (Hons.) degree in Biotechnology from the School of Basic Sciences and Research (SBSR), Sharda University, and her Master’s degree in Biotechnology from Delhi Technological University, Delhi. Her areas of interest include Nutraceuticals and Lifestyle Disease Management, Algal Biorefinery, Plant Biotechnology, and Environmental remediation. She has published several peer-reviewed articles and book chapters majorly in Nutraceuticals, Wastewater Treatment, Microbial Fuel Cells, and Bioremediation. She is editing a contributed book on algal-derived nutraceuticals.