Abiotic stress response of medicinally potential Curcuma spp. in changing climate: Do we have enough clues?

What is it about?

The rhizomatous genus Curcuma has tremendous therapeutic potential attributed to its phyto-constituents and different species of the genus have been used from time immemorial in various traditional or folk medicine worldwide. However, we have observed lack of one complete and precise document on the response of Curcuma spp. towards abiotic stresses and their molecular mechanism to cope with such stresses. We realize that it is important to know the effects of various abiotic stresses such as salinity, flood, drought, high and low temperature, light and heavy metals on these medicinal plants in changing climate. Hence, we have documented the abiotic stress response as well as the future research prospects on the medicinally important Curcuma spp. in the verge of changing climate, by pulling together the published information. We have also emphasized on the urgency of multiomics approaches to find out the genetic and biochemical strategies of Curcuma spp. to cope with stress. Here, we advocate for the urgent need of conservation of rare and endangered species of Curcuma. We believe that this review will be helpful for plant physiologists, farmers, pharmaceutical industries, and policy makers, to implement better policies for commercial yield of Curcuma secondary metabolites to secure health of the mankind in changing climate.

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