A comprehensive review of factors affecting growth and secondary metabolites in hydroponically grown medicinal plants.

Abstract

Main conclusion: Optimizing environmental factors can significantly increase the growth and secondary metabolite synthesis of hydroponically grown medicinal plants. This approach can help increase the quality and quantity of pharmacologically important metabolites to enhance therapeutic needs. Medicinal plants are key therapeutic sources for treating various ailments. The increasing demand for medicinal plants has resulted in the overharvesting of these plants in their natural habitat, which can lead to their extinction in the future. Soil-based cultivation faces challenges, such as a lack of arable land, drastic climatic changes, and attacks by soil-borne pathogens. To overcome these challenges, hydroponic cultivation, known as soilless cultivation, is a sustainable method. The yield and quality of medicinal plants depend on environmental factors, such as nutrients, pH, electrical conductivity, temperature, light, nanoparticles, phytohormones, and microorganisms. This article explores the impact of these environmental factors on the growth and secondary metabolite content of hydroponically grown medicinal plants. Our review reveals how environmental factors qualitatively and quantitatively influence the growth and secondary metabolites of medicinal plants grown in hydroponic systems and how these factors can be integrated into the enhancement of therapeutic compounds.