their lesser side effects and toxicities compared to synthetic drugs and they have been

widely used as traditional and complementary medicines for the management of many

diseases including cancer. The major challenges faced were the absorption of the plantderived

drugs, their stability, bioavailability, and transport to the intended sites inside

the body. Recent progress in nanotechnology has helped to minimize these limitations

and hence phyto-nanoformulations are slowly growing in preclinical trials as well as

clinical use. The use of various nanostructures such as nano-micelles, lipid

nanoparticles, carbon nanotubes, polymer nanoparticles, and nanoliposomes and

various types of drug delivery vehicles such as polybutylcyanoacrylate, polylactic-c-

-glycolic acid, and lactoferrin has immensely helped in increasing the effectiveness of

phytochemical drugs by increasing their stability, better pharmacokinetics and reducing

the toxicity and side effects. Phyto-nanoformulations having natural product

components such as curcumin, piperine, quercetin, berberine, scutellarin, baicalin,

stevioside, silybin, gymnemic acid, naringenin, capsicum oleoresin, emodin, and

resveratrol have been shown to improve the condition of patients diagnosed with

diseases such as neurodegenerative disorders, diabetes, infections, and cancer. Phyto

nanoformulations can also be used to treat disorders of the brain where the blood-brain

barrier is impervious to the drugs. These phyto-nanoformulations have been shown to

target several molecular cell-signaling and metabolic pathways. This chapter covers the

compositions of phyto-nanoformulations and how they have been used to control

several diseases.

phyto-drug extraction and augmentation. Alongside, nanoparticles are also manifested

as potential drug vehicles for carrying curative agents to the targeted tissues or part,

accompanying control delivery of drugs to the infected site. Advancement in

nanotechnology directed towards the transformation of metallo-drugs at the nanoscale

brings new dimensions in therapeutics from the treatment of multidrug-resistant

microbes to chemotherapies of tumors. With the nano-advancement, not only metals

and their oxides are transformed at the nanoscale but also the potential phyto agents,

proteins, and hormones are transformed into nanosized entities which change the entire

fundamentals of therapeutic and curative practices. A lot of changes in medicine, drug

delivery system and drug formulation as commenced just because of nanotechnology.

The current chapter highlights nanotech advancements in the area of medicinal plant

propagation, drug augmentation and extraction methodologies along with their

limitations and future prospects.

stressors throughout their growth period. Insects and pests, like other biotic stressors,

have created significant concerns about lower productivity, which jeopardizes

agricultural production. Genome engineering, also known as genome editing, has

emerged as a cutting-edge breeding technique capable of altering the genomes of

plants, animals, microbes, and humans. Since ancient times, humans have used

medicinal plants for food, medicine, and industrial purposes. Both traditional

biotechnology and more recent next-generation sequencing (NGS) methods have been

used successfully to improve natural chemicals derived from plants with medical

potential. To modify the genome at the transcriptional level, protein-based editing

approaches like zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs) and transcription activator-like end

nucleases (TALENs) were previously frequently employed. CRISPR/associated9

(Cas9) endonucleases are a powerful, resilient, and precise site-directed mutagenesis

method in transcriptome gene editing. CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing employs specially

created guide RNAs to detect a three-base pair protospacer adjacent motif (PAM)

sequence situated downstream of the target DNA. The current review compiles current

research published between 2010 and 2020 on the use of CRISPR/Cas9 genome-editing

technologies in traditional medicines, describing significant innovations, difficulties,

and prospects, as well as noting the technique's broader application in crop and lesser

species. The CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing method has been utilised successfully in

plants to boost agricultural productivity and stress tolerance.

Despite this, only a small number of medicinal plants have been altered using the

CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing technique because to a lack of appropriate

transformation and regeneration techniques, and also a lack of comprehensive genome

and mRNA sequencing data. However, a variety of secondary metabolic activities in

plants (e.g. alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, phenolic acids, and saponin) altered

lately using CRISPR/Cas-editing through knocking out, knocking in, and point

mutations, modulation of gene expression, including targeted mutagenesis.