Conservation of Medicinal plants by sustainable aquaponics approach for novel drug development

Abstract

Medicinal plants are one of the significant elements of global population that play a pivotal role in healthcare and other sectors. The cultivation and trade of medicinal plants hold considerable economic value for a country. However, the interplay of climate change, intensive harvesting, and other stress factors has resulted in a decline in the availability of medicinal plants, leading to a loss of their medicinal properties and, in extreme cases, species extinction. Despite the existence of numerous recommendations aimed at conserving and sustainably utilizing medicinal plant resources, only a limited number of these initiatives have successfully safeguarded some medicinal plant species. This review aims to highlight the significance of conservation of medicinal plants by aquaponics, a sustainable approach integrating aquaculture and hydroponics. The review discusses stress factors affecting the survival of medicinal plants and various applications of medicinal plants in new drug development. Studies providing evidence of aquaponics grown medicinal plants with enhanced performance and medicinal properties were discussed. Future research work can focus more on expanding the scope of utilizing aquaponics to grow and protect a wider array of medicinal plant species. Such an approach will potentially conserve medicinal plants from climate change, exploitative practices, species extinction and can be utilized for novel drug development.