Phytochemicals as therapeutics in heavy metal toxicity

Abstract

Phytochemicals with discrete bioactivities toward animal biochemistry and metabolism are being widely examined for their ability to provide health benefits. It is important to establish the scientific rationale to defend their use in foods, as potential nutritionally active ingredients. Phytochemicals contain an abundant number of alkaloids, flavonoids, phenolics, terpenoids, and fibers. The phytochemicals have been reported to ameliorate the heavy metal-mediated toxicity in organisms. Because of their several industrial, domestic, agricultural, medical, and technical applications, there has been a widespread distribution of heavy metals in the environment, concerning human health and their potential impact on the environment. The excessive and continuous release of heavy metals from various sources causes contamination and threat to almost all environmental factors including both abiotic and biotic factors. Different heavy metals such as Pb, As, Cd, and Hg have been reported to produce toxic effects in many ways. Primarily, heavy metals toxicity involves damage to biomolecules including lipid, protein, and nucleic acids. It is also responsible for hepatotoxicity, neurotoxicity, coronary heart disease, nephrotoxicity and genotoxicity, cancers, high blood pressure, etc. The aim of writing this chapter is to present an updated summary of the role of chemical nature and functions of phytochemicals in treatments of heavy metal-mediated toxicity which may further be used by pharmaceutical industries.