This review traces how heavy metals including Pb, Cd, As, Hg, Cr and Ni along with pesticide residues enter medicinal plants, disrupt their physiology, impair secondary metabolite production and ultimately reach human consumers.
Medicinal plants are increasingly cultivated in agroecosystems irrigated with treated or untreated wastewater, biosolids and contaminated surface water. Pharmaceutical residues are recognised contaminants of emerging concern, but their implications for botanical-drug quality, therapeutic consistency and safety remain insufficiently characterised. This Perspective argues that pharmaceutical wastewater irrigation is a plausible yet underexamined driver of metabolite reprogramming in medicinal plants. Chronic exposure to antibiotics, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antiepileptics, antidepressants, hormones and transformation products may alter secondary metabolism through oxidative stress, xenobiotic detoxification, rhizosphere microbiome disturbance and modified nutrient signalling. These processes may change phenolic, flavonoid, alkaloid, terpenoid, glycoside and volatile metabolites that underpin pharmacognostic quality and ethnopharmacological reliability. Medicinal plants may also accumulate parent pharmaceuticals, transformation products and, under some conditions, microbial signatures associated with antibiotic resistance. Building on Carter et al.’s source-pathway-receptor framework and Helmecke et al.’s regulatory risk synthesis, we shift attention from residue burden to how exposure history alters the medicinal metabolome. Evidence from antibiotic-induced metabolite changes in Pinellia ternata supports this proposition, while indicating compound- and context-specific effects. We advance a balanced position: metabolite reprogramming is biologically credible, but food-crop studies often report de minimis residue risks and inconsistent rhizosphere-resistome effects. Future work should integrate wastewater profiling, matched controls, targeted and untargeted metabolomics, transformation-product discovery, microbiome analysis, digestion and bioaccessibility testing, bioactivity assays and probabilistic mixture-risk assessment.
E. O. Diovu, C. Nnadi, Ugwu Okechukwu Paul-Chima· Frontiers in Pharmacology· 0 citations
The widespread reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides since the Green Revolution has secured unprecedented agricultural productivity but at considerable cost to environmental integrity and human health. This comprehensive evaluation critically examines plant-derived botanical pesticides as sustainable alternatives, moving beyond simplistic "natural equals safe" assumptions to provide a nuanced evidence-based assessment. Botanicals—including neem oil (azadirachtin), pyrethrins, essential oils, and emerging compounds—offer several genuine advantages: rapid biodegradation (half-lives of hours to days for most compounds), selective toxicity targeting arthropod-specific physiological processes (ecdysone antagonism, octopamine receptor modulation), diverse modes of action that impede resistance evolution, and favorable mammalian safety profiles. However, the review identifies five critical caveats frequently overlooked in promotional narratives. First, persistence varies dramatically by compound and soil context; rotenone and nicotine exhibit half-lives of 28–60 days, approaching synthetic pesticide persistence, while rapid degradation of pyrethrins and essential oils necessitates frequent reapplication. Second, non-target effects on beneficial organisms—including reduced parasitization rates in Trichogramma wasps (30–60%), impaired foraging and learning in honeybees, suppressed soil dehydrogenase activity (20–40%), and earthworm reproductive toxicity—though generally milder than synthetics, are not negligible. Third, the "land use dilemma" emerges when scaling production: one kilogram of azadirachtin requires approximately 0.5 hectares of neem plantation, raising questions about displacing food crops or natural habitats. Fourth, life cycle assessments reveal that energy-intensive extraction (5–10 kWh per liter of essential oil) and synthetic co-formulants (constituting 50–95% of formulated products) can undermine claimed environmental benefits. Fifth, regulatory frameworks designed for single-molecule synthetics are ill-suited to complex, variable botanical extracts. Emerging innovations—green nanoemulsions enabling controlled release and extended residual activity (14 days vs. 2–3 days for conventional formulations), synergistic consortia combining botanicals with microbial biocontrol agents (achieving 30–50% greater efficacy than either alone), and valorization of agro-industrial waste streams (citrus peels, oilseed cakes, spent distillation biomass)—offer transformative pathways to overcome current limitations. The review concludes that botanicals, when properly formulated, integrated within IPM frameworks, and evaluated through context-specific life cycle and ecotoxicological assessment, represent a vastly preferable alternative to synthetic pesticides, though they are not a universal panacea. Responsible adoption requires moving beyond binary "natural vs. synthetic" thinking toward nuanced, systems-based decision-making that accounts for soil conditions, non-target species sensitivity, production footprints, and formulation chemistry.
Prem Shanker, M. Ramasamy, B. Birari et al.· Oriental Journal of Chemistr...· 0 citations
Heavy metal (HM) pollution is a major environmental issue affecting ecosystems worldwide. Human activities such as agriculture, mining and industrial manufacturing expose ecosystems and living organisms to HM contamination. HM-contaminated soils impair crop productivity, disrupt food chains and pose serious risks to human health. In plants, HMs interfere with biomolecular and physiological processes leading to morphological and structural alterations. To tolerate HM-induced stress, plants activate various signaling pathways including calcium/calmodulin, MAPK and hormone signaling which regulate the expression of stress-responsive genes. The role of microRNAs (miRNAs) in mitigating metal toxicity has gained considerable attention in recent years. Conventional methods for removing contaminants from soil and water are often expensive, inefficient and environmentally harmful. Phytoremediation has therefore emerged as an eco-friendly and sustainable approach for HM detoxification and environmental restoration. This review provides an overview of HM toxicity, its major sources, uptake mechanisms and adverse environmental effects. It further discusses the relationship between HM stress and plant signaling pathways, the regulatory role of miRNAs and phytoremediation-based strategies for HM alleviation, highlighting recent advances, current challenges and future prospects.
Sakshi Tiwari, B. Siddiqui, Shilpy Singh et al.· International journal of phy...· 0 citations
Pharmaceutical residues are now routinely detected in wastewater-impacted aquatic environments because medicinal compounds and their metabolites enter sewerage, industrial effluents, agricultural drainage and receiving waters through multiple, often continuous pathways. Their environmental significance cannot be inferred from occurrence alone: risk depends on potency, exposure duration, mixtures, transformation products, species sensitivity and the capacity of treatment systems to reduce biologically active mass. This critical narrative review integrates evidence on sources, ecological effects and bioremediation, with emphasis on wastewater-impacted freshwaters and on technologies that rely substantially on microbial, fungal, algal or plant-associated processes. Literature was selected through live searches of multidisciplinary and environmental or biomedical scholarly sources, supplemented by citation searching and DOI verification. The strongest causal ecological evidence comes from whole-ecosystem work with endocrine-active pharmaceuticals, while laboratory and field studies also support concern for behavioural disruption, chronic sublethal effects and antibiotic-driven selection for antimicrobial resistance. Nevertheless, extrapolation remains difficult because monitoring is dominated by parent compounds and targeted analytes, whereas mixtures and transformation products are incompletely characterised. Conventional activated sludge provides variable and compound-specific attenuation; apparent parent removal may reflect sorption or transformation rather than mineralisation. Membrane bioreactors, adapted bacterial consortia, white-rot fungi, microalgae and constructed wetlands can improve removal under favourable conditions, but evidence is uneven across scales and frequently relies on high test concentrations or parent disappearance. The synthesis indicates that no single biological technology provides universal control. Risk reduction is more defensibly pursued through source control, robust biological treatment and targeted polishing, supported by mass balances, transformation-product screening, effect-based endpoints and antimicrobial-resistance assessment. Future research should prioritise trace-level, full-scale comparisons and standardised demonstrations that connect chemical removal to reduced biological hazard.
Yogita Basene, Shreeti Shrivastawa· Asian Journal of Environment...· 0 citations
Hydroponic farming is a contemporary, sustainable technique for growing plants without soil, utilizing nutrient-dense aqueous solutions. This technique is gaining popularity for its capacity to conserve water, maximize space, and enhance agricultural yields. Nonetheless, despite its benefits, hydroponic farming is susceptible to contamination, especially from heavy metals. These pollutants can enter the system via water supplies, fertilizers, or growing media, presenting possible health hazards to consumers and environmental issues. Heavy metal contamination of food crops remains a significant public health concern, particularly with the increasing adoption of hydroponic cultivation systems. This study evaluated the accumulation, translocation, and human health risks associated with cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), copper (Cu), chromium (Cr), and selenium (Se) in Talinum triangulare, Telfairia occidentalis, and Amaranthus spinosus cultivated under controlled hydroponic conditions. Metal concentrations in plant tissues were determined using standard analytical techniques, and bioaccumulation factor (BAF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), and translocation factor (TF) were calculated to assess uptake and mobility. Estimated daily intake (EDI), target hazard quotient (THQ), and hazard index (HI) were employed to evaluate potential non-carcinogenic health risks. Results showed variable metal accumulation among species, with higher translocation observed for Cu. Although individual THQ values for all metals were below unity, the cumulative HI exceeded the recommended safety threshold, indicating potential health risks associated with long-term consumption. These findings highlight the need for careful monitoring of nutrient and metal composition in hydroponic systems to ensure food safety and protect public health.
O. A, O. A, Egu S. A. et al.· African Research Reports· 0 citations
The escalating reliance on synthetic chemical pesticides has caused significant environmental degradation, raised human health concerns, and accelerated the development of pesticide resistance. In response to these pressing challenges, botanical pesticides, which utilize natural plant-derived compounds, offer a viable, sustainable, and eco-friendly alternative for crop protection. Derived from sources such as neem, pyrethrum, and various essential oils, these natural secondary metabolites exhibit diverse modes of action against destructive pests, including neurotoxicity, antifeedant effects, and growth inhibition. This review paper comprehensively assesses the application of botanical pesticides, highlighting their numerous ecological benefits such as rapid biodegradability, lower environmental persistence, and minimal toxicity towards non-target organisms like pollinators. Despite these advantages, the widespread commercialization of botanical biopesticides faces several limitations, including variability in active compound concentration, slower knockdown rates compared to synthetics, and regulatory hurdles rooted in frameworks originally designed for conventional chemicals. To overcome these challenges, contemporary advancements in formulation technologies, such as microencapsulation and nanotechnology, are being explored to enhance their stability and field efficacy. Ultimately, the integration of botanical pesticides into modern Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies is essential for transitioning towards resilient, productive, and environmentally sustainable agricultural systems globally.
Research Author· European Journal of Ayurvedi...· 0 citations
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