Pollination plays a significant role in the agriculture sector and serves as a basic pillar for crop production. Plants depend on vectors to move pollen, which can include water, wind, and animal pollinators like bats, moths, hoverflies, birds, bees, butterflies, wasps, thrips, and beetles. Cultivated plants are typically pollinated by animals. Animal-based pollination contributes to 30% of global food production, and bee-pollinated crops contribute to approximately one-third of the total human dietary supply. Bees are considered significant pollinators due to their effectiveness and wide availability. Bee pollination provides excellent value to crop quality and quantity, improving global economic and dietary outcomes. This review highlights the role played by bee pollination, which influences the economy, and enlists the different types of bees and other insects associated with pollination.

Nanoparticles (NPs) are new inspiring clinical targets that have emerged from persistent efforts with unique properties and diverse applications.

Heavy-metal (HM) pollution is considered a leading source of environmental contamination. Heavy-metal pollution in ground water poses a serious threat to human health and the aquatic ecosystem. Conventional treatment technologies to remove the pollutants from wastewater are usually costly, time-consuming, environmentally destructive, and mostly inefficient. Phytoremediation is a cost-effective green emerging technology with long-lasting applicability. The selection of plant species is the most significant aspect for successful phytoremediation. Aquatic plants hold steep efficiency for the removal of organic and inorganic pollutants. Water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes), water lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) and Duck weed (Lemna minor) along with some other aquatic plants are prominent metal accumulator plants for the remediation of heavy-metal polluted water. The phytoremediation potential of the aquatic plant can be further enhanced by the application of innovative approaches in phytoremediation. A summarizing review regarding the use of aquatic plants in phytoremediation is gathered in order to present the broad applicability of phytoremediation.

Traditional herbal remedies have been attracting attention as prospective alternative resources of therapy for diverse diseases across many nations. In recent decades, medicinal plants have been gaining wider acceptance due to the perception that these plants, as natural products, have fewer side effects and improved efficacy compared to their synthetic counterparts. Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (Licorice) is a small perennial herb that has been traditionally used to treat many diseases, such as respiratory disorders, hyperdipsia, epilepsy, fever, sexual debility, paralysis, stomach ulcers, rheumatism, skin diseases, hemorrhagic diseases, and jaundice. Moreover, chemical analysis of the G. glabra extracts revealed the presence of several organic acids, liquirtin, rhamnoliquirilin, liquiritigenin, prenyllicoflavone A, glucoliquiritin apioside, 1-metho-xyphaseolin, shinpterocarpin, shinflavanone, licopyranocoumarin, glisoflavone, licoarylcoumarin, glycyrrhizin, isoangustone A, semilicoisoflavone B, licoriphenone, and 1-methoxyficifolinol, kanzonol R and several volatile components. Pharmacological activities of G. glabra have been evaluated against various microorganisms and parasites, including pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and Plasmodium falciparum, and completely eradicated P. yoelii parasites. Additionally, it shows antioxidant, antifungal, anticarcinogenic, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities. The current review examined the phytochemical composition, pharmacological activities, pharmacokinetics, and toxic activities of G. glabra extracts as well as its phytoconstituents.

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of progressive dementia in the elderly. It is characterized by a progressive and irreversible loss of cognitive abilities and formation of senile plaques, composed mainly of amyloid β (Aβ), and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs), composed of tau protein, in the hippocampus and cortex of afflicted humans. In brains of AD patients the metabolism of Aβ is dysregulated, which leads to the accumulation and aggregation of Aβ. Metabolism of Aβ and tau proteins is crucially influenced by autophagy. Autophagy is a lysosome-dependent, homeostatic process, in which organelles and proteins are degraded and recycled into energy. Thus, dysfunction of autophagy is suggested to lead to the accretion of noxious proteins in the AD brain. In the present review, we describe the process of autophagy and its importance in AD. Additionally, we discuss mechanisms and genes linking autophagy and AD, i.e., the mTOR pathway, neuroinflammation, endocannabinoid system, ATG7, BCL2, BECN1, CDK5, CLU, CTSD, FOXO1, GFAP, ITPR1, MAPT, PSEN1, SNCA, UBQLN1, and UCHL1. We also present pharmacological agents acting via modulation of autophagy that may show promise in AD therapy. This review updates our knowledge on autophagy mechanisms proposing novel therapeutic targets for the treatment of AD.