Lead poisoning has been recognized as a major public health risk, particularly in developing countries. Though various occupational and public health measures have been undertaken in order to control lead exposure, cases of lead poisoning are still reported. Exposure to lead produces various deleterious effects on the hematopoietic, renal, reproductive and central nervous system, mainly through increased oxidative stress. These alterations play a prominent role in disease manifestations. Modulation of cellular thiols for protection against reactive oxygen species (ROS) has been used as a therapeutic strategy against lead poisoning. N-acetylcysteine, α-lipoic acid, vitamin E, quercetin and a few herbal extracts show prophylaxis against the majority of lead mediated injury in both invitro and in vivo studies. This review provides a comprehensive account of recent updates describing health effects of lead exposure, relevant biomarkers and mechanisms involved in lead toxicity. It also updates the readers about recent advances in chelation therapy and newer therapeutic strategies, like nanoencapsulation, to treat lead induced toxic manifestations.

There has been a significant rise in the levels of heavy metals (Pb, As, Hg and Cd) due to their increased industrial usage causing a severe concern to public health. The accumulation of heavy metals generates oxidative stress in the body causing fatal effects to important biological processes leading to cell death. Therefore, there is an imperative need to explore efficient and effective methods for the eradication of these heavy metals as against the conventionally used uneconomical and time consuming strategies that have numerous environmental hazards. One such eco-friendly, low cost and efficient alternative to target heavy metals is bioremediation technology that utilizes various microorganisms, green plants or enzymes for the abolition of heavy metals from polluted sites. This review comprehensively discusses toxicological manifestations of heavy metals along with the detailed description of bioremediation technologies employed such as phytoremediation and biosorption for the potential removal of these metals. It also updates readers about recent advances in bioremediation technologies like the use of nanoparticles, non-living biomass and transgenic crops.

Curcumin, a naturally occurring polyphenolic compound, is known to have a wide range of therapeutic and pharmacological properties. Although it is a considerably promising compound, its poor water solubility and fast degradation profile make it compromise over its bioavailability way below the threshold level on administration. Over a period of time, a lot of emphasis has been given to improve the biodistribution of native curcumin, but it is only recently that the application of the field of nanotherapeutics has significantly improved its therapeutic efficacy. This is through the development of nanorange formulations of curcumin, popularly known as the "nanocurcumin." These attempts have given a strong platform to reap all the biological benefits from this phytodrug, which was not significantly plausible earlier. This review gives an insight into the reasons that make nanocurcumin a more therapeutically advanced drug than its native counterpart. It also discusses various nanometric formulations of curcumin that have been reported for its controlled and targeted delivery along with a critical comparison of its therapeutic efficacy with free curcumin. We also summarize the biological applications, patented technologies, and current status of the ongoing clinical trials related to nanocurcumin.