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The Fabaceae or Leguminoseae is a family of flowering plants called legumes which are culturally and economically important plants due to their extraordinary diversity, abundance, medicinal uses, and varied variety of edible vegetables. These plants are also important because legumes help in nitrogen fixation and thus reduce the cost of fertilizers for farmers. However, it was observed in past decades that climate change and anthropogenic activities have created stress-like conditions for various plants. Different kinds of environmental stresses including high/low temperature, salinity, drought, nutrient deficiencies are known to cause considerable losses in crop yield. Because plants are sessile in nature, they have developed a series of complex phenomena to combat a variety of abiotic stresses. Plants deal with abiotic stresses by activation/deactivation of a number of genes involved in different pathways. The gene products which are produced as a result of stress-induced gene expression can provide direct protection against these stresses and others that are responsible for gene expression regulation and signal transduction. Understanding varied stress responses in plants can help in producing better cultivar and improvisation of species. Various techniques such as marker-assisted breeding, tissue culture, somaclonal variations and in vitro mutagenesis, double haploids, wide hybridization, and genetic transformation have been used to reduce some of these constraints. Transgenic techniques are helpful in producing improved germplasm exhibiting tolerance to abiotic stress as well as resistance to various diseases resulting in better crop quality with increased productivity. This chapter focuses on the use of transgenic techniques for abiotic stress tolerance in legumes.

Population explosion, urbanization, crunch of resources, changes in social outlook and improper distribution of food has elicited a situation where every one in nine people are deprived of sufficient food. To increase the production and attain food security, many malpractices like cultivation on contaminated land and irrigation with wastewater are being carried out. These practices lead to the transfer of heavy metals from soil to food crops and thus food chain. Translocation of heavy metals can be reduced by decreasing the mobility of heavy metals. Amending the soil with suitable substrates helps in immobilization of heavy metals and thus reducing the uptake by plants. There is need to identify suitable soil amendments which can reduce heavy metal uptake and enhance crop yield. The present review summarizes various inorganic and organic amendments which can immobilize heavy metals and thus can be used for soil remediation.

Tomato is a wonder fruit fortified with health-promoting phytochemicals that are beneficial in preventing important chronic degenerative disorders. Tomato is a good source of phenolic compounds (phenolic acids and flavonoids), carotenoids (lycopene, α, and β carotene), vitamins (ascorbic acid and vitamin A) and glycoalkaloids (tomatine). Bioactive constituents present in tomato have antioxidant, anti-mutagenic, anti-proliferative, anti-inflammatory and anti-atherogenic activities. Health promoting bioactivities of tomatoes make them useful ingredient for the development of functional foods. Protective role of tomato (lycopene as a potent antioxidant) in humans against various degenerative diseases are known throughout the world. Intake of tomato is inversely related to the incidence of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, ageing and many other health problems. Bioavailability of phytoconstituents in tomato is generally not affected by routine cooking processes making it even more beneficial for human consumption. The present review provides collective information of phytochemicals in tomato along with discussing their bioactivities and possible health benefits.

Cancer is a deadliest disease which has been a challenging prorogue for human health and civilization. Legumes or plants of family Fabaceae have been part of our diet since times immemorial. Plants of this family are rich in phytoconstituents which make them effective therapeutic agents for various diseases. The synergistic effects of different phytoconstituents are far more than the effect of individual compounds. Studies have revealed that those parts of the world which consume legumes as a staple diet have less mortality due to cancer as compared to other parts of the world. Also, it has been reported that phytochemical components of plants of this family inhibit carcinogenesis at various stages. The use of phytoconstituents derived from these plants along with traditional chemotherapy can have synergistic effects which help in fighting cancer. This review focuses on various compounds present in plants of family Fabaceae and their anticarcinogenic potential.

Plant kingdom is rich in phytochemicals with high potential for medicinal and therapeutic uses. These can be particularly recruited to combat the environmental genotoxins that have increased tremendously in last few decades due to industrialization of human lifestyle. Screening of plants for this purpose involves a battery of bioassays; the mammalian or bacterial assays are used worldwide. Considering the ethical and economic reasons, the use of plant bioassays for the initial screening is advocated. Of all plant bioassays available, Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay is an efficient, most-easy and inexpensive tool that can be used for (i) assessment of genotoxicity of environmental mutagens and (ii) evaluation of anti-genotoxic potential of plant extracts. The present chapter discusses the history, application and technical aspects of this assay in assessing the geno-protective potential of various plants with special reference to Ashwagandha, the wonder herb.