Application of medicinal plant to cure ailments has been practiced by several civilizations. Nowadays, contamination of heavy metals and pesticide residues in medicinal plant is a serious concern, due to toxic effects on human health. The present study was designed with an aim to quantify the heavy metals and pesticide residues in the 20 medicinal herbs, frequently sold in the local market as raw material without any quality assurance. The concentrations of the elements are as follows: copper (2.42-19.14 μgg), cadmium (0.01-2.10 μgg), chromium (17.63-58.63 μgg), iron (7.61-322.6 μgg), and lead (13.00-54.47 μgg), whereas total metal concentration ranged between 44.73 and 385.15 μgg. Among the organic pesticides, HCH (1.63-6.44 μgg) and DDT (0.63-7.14 μgg) isomers were found to be present in medicinal plant material. Result showed that lead and chromium concentrations in the herbs were above the permissible limits set by WHO. These herbs should be regularly checked for quality assurance before using raw or as a herbal formulation to avoid chronic exposure of metal and pesticides to human being.

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Soil contamination with heavy metals (HMs) is a serious concern for the developing world due to its non-biodegradability and significant potential to damage the ecosystem and associated services. Rapid industrialization and activities such as mining, manufacturing, and construction are generating a huge quantity of toxic waste which causes environmental hazards. There are various traditional physicochemical techniques such as electro-remediation, immobilization, stabilization, and chemical reduction to clean the contaminants from the soil. However, these methods require high energy, trained manpower, and hazardous chemicals make these techniques costly and non-environment friendly. Bioremediation, which includes microorganism-based, plant-based, microorganism-plant associated, and other innovative methods, is employed to restore the contaminated soils. This review covers some new aspects and dimensions of bioremediation of heavy metal-polluted soils. The bioremediation potential of bacteria and fungi individually and in association with plants has been reviewed and critically examined. It is reported that microbes such as Pseudomonas spp., Bacillus spp., and Aspergillus spp., have high metal tolerance, and bioremediation potential up to 98% both individually and when associated with plants such as Trifolium repens, Helianthus annuus, and Vallisneria denseserrulata. The mechanism of microbe’s detoxification of metals depends upon various aspects which include the internal structure, cell surface properties of microorganisms, and the surrounding environmental conditions have been covered. Further, factors affecting the bioremediation efficiency and their possible solution, along with challenges and future prospects, are also discussed.

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