Title : The impact of climate change on medicinal plant availability and efficacy
Abstract:
Medicinal plants have been fundamental in both traditional and modern medicine, offering a wide array of bioactive compounds crucial for therapeutic purposes. The escalating impact of climate change presents notable risks to the accessibility and effectiveness of these essential resources. The primary objective of this investigation is to explore the diverse effects of climate change on medicinal plants, concentrating on aspects such as their geographical distribution, growth environments, and medicinal properties. A thorough examination of current literature was carried out, encompassing scholarly articles, climate projections, and botanical research. The results demonstrate that climate change has a significant influence on the habitat ranges and population dynamics of medicinal plants. Elevated temperatures, modified precipitation patterns, and more frequent extreme weather events disrupt the growth cycles of plants, resulting in diminished biomass and compromised production of secondary metabolites. The study emphasizes the pressing necessity for adaptive conservation measures to protect the diversity of medicinal plants. The changing climate represents a significant menace to the availability and effectiveness of medicinal plants, with substantial repercussions for global health and the pharmaceutical sector. To ensure the continued use of these priceless natural resources in medicine, proactive measures are necessary for their conservation.
Keywords: Climate change, medicinal plants, phytochemicals, therapeutic efficacy.
