Effect of salinity stress on growth and physiology of medicinal plants

Abstract

Cultivation of medicinal plants has been economically beneficial for medicine and drug industries. These plants are storehouses of precious active principles which can be developed into a variety of drugs, some of which are life-saving. However, it is difficult to initiate large scale cultivation of these plants as most of the cultivable lands are dominantly used for the growth of essential food crops. The other non-cultivable lands are often affected with various kinds of abiotic stresses, salinity being the predominant amongst them. This chapter focuses upon the growth and physiology of different medicinal plants in response to salinity stress. We highlight the physiological processes as well as primary and secondary metabolism of medicinal plants during salt stress that will promote a global cultivation map for the medicinal plants under such challenging or hostile situations.