Mercury was the name of the Roman messenger of god who can move really fast. It is also called as quicksilver due to its fast movement and silvery tinge. Liquid metal state mercury (Hg) has little to no solubility and is not poisonous. But the liquid mercury can vaporize, and gaseous mercury becomes poisonous due to its nature of being absorbed into the blood. Mercury in +2 state is more poisonous due to high solubility. Mercury is the only metal that exists in liquid state at normal temperature and pressure. Mercury poisoning occurs by exposure to mercury, i.e., acute and chronic exposures. Symptoms of mercury poisoning depend on the type, dose, method, and duration of exposure. Mercury poisoning effects on the human body are not limited to reddishness of hands and feet; renal failures; cardiovascular, liver, brain, and hormonal issues; and intestinal ulceration. The present chapter describes the mercury sources, types of exposures, types of poisoning, treatments, and preventive measures of mercury poisoning.

Heavy metals are defined in many ways, based on various factors such as density and atomic weight. Some of the heavy metals are essential as nutrients for humans such as iron, cobalt and, zinc in small quantities but are toxic in higher quantities. But few metals, such as lead, cadmium and, mercury are poisonous even in small quantities. The toxicity of heavy metals is depending on concentration,period of exposure and route of exposure. Heavy metal exposure takes place on human beings through inhalation from the atmosphere, intake through drinking water and, ingestion through the skin by dermal contact. The present chapter describes the definition of heavy metals, sources of these heavy metals, toxicity and, their impact on various environmental segments, such as air, water and, soil.

Thiosemicarbazones (TSCs) are the condensed products of carbonyl compounds (aldehydes, ketones) and thiosemicarbazide. Thiosemicarbazones and their metal complexes attract both the analytical as well as biological researchers due to their vast applications in binding to the metal ions and also biological applications. Few authors reviewed the analytical applications of thiosemicarbazones 1-3. The recent review 3 discussed the analytical and biological applications of thio and phenyl thiosemicarbazones, but mainly focused on the analytical applications. Wood et al. 4 reviewed the usage of Cu(II)-diacetyl-bis(N 4methyl-thiosemicarbazones) as a radiotracer for tumor hypoxia. Garoufis et al. 5 reviewed antiviral, antifungal, antimicrobial and antitumor activities of Pd(II) coordination compounds including thiosemicarbazone complexes. Few authors 6,7 reviewed the therapeutic activities of transition metal complexes of thiosemicarbazones. Kathiravan et al. 8 reported the biology and chemistry of antifungal agents, including thiosemicarbazones. This present review extensively discusses the biological applications such as, antimalarial, antibacterial, antitrypanosomal and antiviral properties of thiosemicarbazones and their metal complexes reported since 2008. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Antimalarial activity: The activity of compounds or agents, which will inhibit the growth and spread malarial parasites and the biological effect, is known as antimalarial activity. Various species of Plasmodium are the causative agents of malaria. Plasmodium, the parasite responsible for human

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