Background:

The medicinal plants are important for the health care of most of the people in the world. Traditional herbal medicines are getting significant attention in global health discussions. Out of the total 422,000 flowering plant reported from the world, more than 50,000 are used for medicinal purposes. About 60% of the world population and 80% of the population of developing countries rely on traditional medicine. More than 4.5 billion people in the developing world rely on medicinal plants as components of their healthcare. Medicinal plants are globally valuable sources of new drugs. There are over 1300 medicinal plants used in Europe, of which 90 % are harvested from wild resources; in the United States, about 118 of the top 150 prescription drugs are based on natural sources. Furthermore, up to 80 % of people in developing countries are totally dependent on herbal drugs for their primary healthcare, and over 25 % of prescribed medicines in developed countries are derived from wild plant species. Pakistan has a unique biodiversity, having nine major ecological zones. Due to its unique climate, the country is very rich in medicinal and endemic plants distributed in its large area. According to an estimate, almost 6,000 wild plant species are present with nearly 600 species being used for medicinal purposes.
Several parts of the herbal plant such as leaf, stem, fruit, seed, bark, and roots are used to acquire many phytochemicals. Medicinal plants are also gaining popularity among the western population because they have minor or no side effects if administered properly. Besides medicinal use, plants are increasingly used in cosmetics and nutraceutics. Herbal medicines have been proved to be highly effective to treat a wide range of diseases, including gastrointestinal disorders.
Nanotechnology is described as a comprehension and manipulation of materials within the range of 1100 nm, exploiting phenomena to facilitate innovative uses. It has garnered significant attention due to the unique properties at the nanoscale, enabling engineers and scientists to manipulate matter in novel ways. Nanotechnology has been adopted in various sectors, including health, food and agriculture, environment, electronic, and textile. Among the most studied aspects of nanotechnology is the preparation and manipulation of nanoparticles, considered as the primary underlying element. Nanoparticles and nanostructured materials are gaining increasing attention for integration into multidisciplinary science. Their super tiny size provides a large surface area to volume ratio, resulting in unique physical and chemical properties. These properties contribute to excellent antibacterial and catalytic performance, as well as magnetic and electrical properties, leading to the development of functional materials in various fields such as semiconductors, electronics, sensors, antibacterial agents, and more.
Before the development of the green synthesis method, the nanoparticles were conventionally synthesized through some methods and techniques, including alcohothermal, hydrothermal, sol-gel, precursor sublimation technique, plasma-chemical, gamma radiation, electrochemical, microwaveassisted hydrothermal, sonochemical, magnetron sputtering, reduction, and reverse microemulsion combined with reduction method. Due to its simplicity and ease, the reduction-precipitation method is the most favorable among the conventional synthesis methods. The plant extract is the most favorable of all-natural sources to synthesize nanoparticles because of its natural abundance. Additionally, it is easy to find and prepare, safe, consume low energy, and in some cases, it can also maintain the growth and stability of formed nanoparticles. The preparation of plant extract is quite simple. The advantages of plant extract-mediated nanoparticle synthesis are: i. simple procedure (ambient conditions), ii. zero contamination because all from natural plant extract biocompatible byproduct, iii. free toxicity from hazardous chemical solvents in synthesis, iv. The nature traits of reducing and capping agents synchronize, v. environmental benign, vi. the potential to produce nanoparticles on a large scale, vii. cost-effective, and viii. well, define size and shape of nanoparticles may produce.

Topics:

The main topics of this symposium are listed below.

Nanoparticles and Medicinal Plants

Meanwhile, submissions aligned with the overall conference theme are also welcome.

Environmental Science

Geoscience

Ecology

Bioscience and Bioengineering