Modern Insights into Breeding of Medicinal Plants for Health and Industry

Abstract

An essential source of natural medicines, medicinal plants have a long history of usage in the treatment of a wide range of illnesses. Some of the secondary metabolites produced by plants as a defence mechanism against biotic and abiotic challenges are used to treat health affections. Considering the importance of medicinal plants primarily for their therapeutic qualities, this paper reviews the traditional and modern breeding methods of medicinal plants. Most plant cultivars today are products of traditional breeding techniques, such as selection, hybridization, mutagenesis, and polyploidy. Nevertheless nowadays, the use of molecular markers assisted selection or genetic editing techniques are promising tools in improving plant resistance to environmental stress factors and increasing concentrations of bioactive compounds. Integrating modern breeding technologies with ecological cultivation and conservation strategies is the key to the long-term sustainability of medicinal plants. Some examples of these include increasing genetic variety in crops grown for medicinal purposes, protecting natural habitats, and using sustainable forms of agriculture. To maintain the original identity and characteristics of local plants, research must focus on using local genetic resources as the initial material for use in breeding programs. Improved varieties of medicinal plants can hence be created that display increased disease resistance, higher productivity, and/or improved efficiencies in bioactive compound synthesis, which would greatly influence the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries.