Effect and Response of Medicinal Plants to Abiotic Stress

Medicinal plants have been a vital source of natural products used to treat various diseases from time onward. In an era of rapid environmental changes, understanding how medicinal plants respond to abiotic stresses has become crucial for efficiently utilizing their therapeutic potential. This chapter delves into the complex interplay between medicinal plants and various abiotic stressors, including salinity, temperature, drought, ultraviolet radiation, and heavy metal contamination, and their consequent impacts on plant development and productivity. Medicinal plants are known to produce several secondary metabolites that have a wide range of biological functions, including antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and antimicrobial properties. They are also important for enhancing the plant’s defense mechanisms against abiotic stressors and stress-induced oxidative damage. Phytohormones play a crucial regulatory role in enhancing the abiotic stress tolerance of plants. However, most plants fight the adverse effects of stresses through adequate defense mechanisms and tolerance potential using various cellular and molecular mechanisms. This chapter reviews the overall impact of abiotic stress on the growth, development, and physiological characteristics of medicinal plants.