Phytoremediation Potential Of Medicinal And Aromatic Plants

Environmental contamination of heavy metals is a major problem, threatening sustainable agricultural production and health of millions of people. The extensive distribution of heavy metals in soil and water makes it necessary to employ environment-friendly low-cost and sustainable approaches for the remediation of contaminated sites. Phytoremediation has been considered a viable approach to meet these demands; however, it must provide some economic gains too. The use of economically important medicinal and aromatic plants is helpful in restoration of metal-contaminated sites and also may provide economic gains to the farmers. The book brings about a critical overview of the prospects of utilizing medicinal and aromatic plants in phytoremediation, including their utility, economic benefits and human safety issues. The book will be a timely addition to the field and would act as landmark. This book is of interest to teachers, researchers, doctoral and graduate students working in the area of environmental pollution and cleanup technologies. The students working in the field of metal(loid) stress and crop biofortification will also find this to be a useful read. The content of the book is presented in simple language and represented through beautiful and scientifically informative figures and tables.

Provides information about various heavy metals, industrial pollutants, mine-waste sites, and pesticides and their toxicological effects on environment, humans, animals and plants Useful for people doing research in Environmental Sciences, Plant Sciences and policy makers Gives insights of socioeconomic aspects of application of medicinal and aromatic plants for phytoremediation

Before the concept of history began, humans undoubtedly acquired life benefits by discovering medicinal and aromatic plants (MAPs) that were food and medicine. Today, a variety of available herbs and spices are used and enjoyed throughout the world and continue to promote good health. The international market is also quite welcoming for MAPs and essential oils. The increasing environment and nature conscious buyers encourage producers to produce high quality essential oils. These consumer choices lead to growing preference for organic and herbal based products in the world market. As the benefits of medicinal and aromatic plants are recognized, these plants will have a special role for humans in the future. Until last century, the production of botanicals relies to a large degree on wild-collection. However, the increasing commercial collection, largely unmonitored trade, and habitat loss lead to an incomparably growing pressure on plant populations in the wild. Therefore, medicinal and aromatic plants are of high priority for conservation. Given the above, we bring forth a comprehensive volume, “Medicinal and Aromatic Plants: Healthcare and Industrial Applications”, highlighting the various healthcare, industrial and pharmaceutical applications that are being used on these immensely important MAPs and its future prospects. This collection of chapters from the different areas dealing with MAPs caters to the need of all those who are working or have interest in the above topic.

Nutraceutical Fruits and Foods for Neurodegenerative Disorders presents food-based strategies, specifically related to nutraceuticals, in delaying the onset and slowing down of the propensity of neuronal devastation. In addition to highlighting the positive effects of nutraceutical fruits and foods on brain health, the book also explores the medicinal properties of fruits, vegetables, berries and nutraceuticals, along with their contribution to environmental factors, potential hazards and the need for specific regulatory actions. This book will be a welcomed reference for nutrition researchers, dieticians, nutritionists and academicians studying related fields. Users will find this book to be a solid foundation on which scientific knowledge in the field of aromatic crop-based phytoremediation can grow and expand. It will also be a good and instructive text with a format that is easy to grasp and read. Focuses on anthropogenic land pollution and management through aromatic crops Provides basic understanding and a clear picture on how to use aromatic grasses in phytoremediation with a goal toward sustainable development Explores the sustainability of aromatic crop cultivation in polluted land in phytoremediation programs

This book covers interesting research topics and the use of natural resources for medical treatments in some severe diseases. The most important message is to have native foods which contain high amount of active compounds that can be used as a medicinal plant. Most pharmaceutical drugs were discovered from plants, and still ongoing research will have to predict such new active compounds as anti-diseases. I do believe this book will add significant knowledge to medical societies as well as can be used for postgraduate students.

The book presents recent remediation techniques for heavy metal contamination in wastewater, with a focus on recently-developed and sustainable materials such as metal oxides and their composites, two-dimensional materials, organic-inorganic ion exchange materials, nanomaterials, bagasse, and olive-oil waste chelating materials. Chapters also describe the analysis of heavy metals, membranes for water treatment, sources and impact of heavy metals and opportunities and challenges in heavy metal remediation.

The globally escalating population necessitates production of more goods and services to fulfil the expanding demands of human beings which resulted in urbanization and industrialization. Uncontrolled industrialization caused two major problems – energy crisis and accelerated environmental pollution throughout the world. Presently, there are technologies which have been proposed or shown to tackle both the problems. Researchers continue to seek more cost effective and environmentally beneficial pathways for problem solving. Plant kingdom comprises of species which have the potential to resolve the couple problem of pollution and energy. Plants are considered as a potential feedstock for development of renewable energy through biofuels. Another important aspect of plants is their capacity to sequester carbon dioxide and absorb, degrade, and stabilize environmental pollutants such as heavy metals, poly-aromatic hydrocarbons, poly-aromatic biphenyls, radioactive materials, and other chemicals. Thus, plants may be used to provide renewable energy generation and pollution mitigation. An approach that could amalgamate the two aspects can be achieved through phytoremediation (using plants to clean up polluted soil and water), and subsequent generation of energy from the phyto-remediator plants. This would be a major advance in achieving sustainability that focuses on optimizing ‘people’ (social issues), ‘planet’ (environmental issues), and ‘profit’ (financial issues). The “Phytoremediation-Cellulosic Biofuels” (PCB) process will be socially beneficial through reducing pollution impacts on people, ecologically beneficial through pollution abatement, and economically viable through providing revenue that supplies an energy source that is renewable and also provides less dependence on importing foreign energy (energy-independence). The utilization of green plants for pollution remediation and energy production will also tackle some other important global concerns like global climate change, ocean acidification, and land degradation through carbon sequestration, reduced emissions of other greenhouse gases, restoration of degraded lands and waters, and more. This book addresses the overall potential of major plants that have the potential to fulfil the dual purposes of phytoremediation and energy generation. The non-edible bioenergy plants that are explored for this dual objective include Jatropha curcas, Ricinus communis, Leucaena leucocephalla, Milletia pinnata, Canabis sativa, Azadirachta indica, and Acacia nilotica. The book addresses all possible aspects of phyto-remediaton and energy generation in a holistic way. The contributors are one of most authoritative experts in the field and have covered and compiled the best content most comprehensively. The book is going to be extremely useful for researchers in the area, research students, academicians and also for policy makers for an inclusive understanding and assessment of potential in plant kingdom to solve the dual problem of energy and pollution.

Phytoremediation Potential of Perennial Grasses provides readers with the knowledge to select specific perennial grass species according to site-specific needs. In addition, it demonstrates the potential opportunities for grass-based phytoremediation to yield phytoproducts, especially biomass-based bioenergy and aromatic essential oils as a green economy while in the process of remediating contaminated sites. The book brings together recent and established knowledge on different aspects of grass-based phytoremediation, providing this information in a single source that offers a cutting-edge synthesis of scientific and experiential knowledge on polluted site restoration that is useful for both practitioners and scientists in environmental science and ecology. Provides a holistic approach to grass-based phytoremediation, covering the ecological, economic and social issues related to its management Addresses the key role that grass-based phytoremediation plays in maintaining ecosystem services in polluted sites Includes strategies to mitigate costs related to the phytoremediation of polluted sites