Environmental Stress-Induced Reprogramming of Secondary Metabolism in Medicinal Plants: An Integrated Framework Linking Plant Physiology to Medicinal Compound Quality

Eskandari, Hamdollah; Alizadeh-Amraie, Ashraf

doi:10.22092/ijmapr.2026.372415.3620

Document Type : Reviewed scientific papers

Authors

¹ Associate Professor, Department of Agriculture Payame Noor University

² Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Payame Noor University, Tehran, Iran

10.22092/ijmapr.2026.372415.3620

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Medicinal plants are important sources of bioactive compounds used in pharmaceutical, food, and health industries, but the quantity and quality of their active constituents are strongly affected by environmental conditions. Recent evidence indicates that abiotic stress does not merely restrict plant growth; they also reprogram secondary metabolism through physiological and molecular regulatory networks. Focusing on drought, salinity, temperature, and radiation, this review examines the roles of redox regulation, hormonal crosstalk, transcriptional control, and biosynthetic pathways in shaping secondary-metabolite production. The main objective was to clarify the relationships among stress intensity, physiological responses, metabolic reprogramming, and the final quality of medicinal compounds.
Methodology: This study was conducted as an analytical review. Scientific literature was retrieved from Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar using combinations of English keywords related to medicinal plants, abiotic stress, secondary metabolism, redox regulation, hormonal signaling, and biosynthetic pathways. The review mainly focused on peer-reviewed articles published from 2018 to 2024 that investigated relationships among abiotic stresses, physiological and molecular responses, and secondary-metabolite production in medicinal plants. Studies were selected when they were directly relevant to the review topic and provided physiological, biochemical, genomic, or metabolomic evidence useful for explaining the regulatory mechanisms of secondary metabolism. Purely descriptive studies or papers without a direct link to the quality of bioactive compounds were excluded. The selected findings were classified and compared according to stress type, response intensity, redox status, hormonal interactions, transcriptional control, biosynthetic-pathway regulation, and physiological and management implications. Evidence from different species and metabolite groups was then integrated to identify common response patterns as well as differences related to stress type, plant species, and response intensity. Finally, the relationships among redox signaling, hormonal regulation, gene expression, carbon allocation, and the biosynthesis of phenolic, terpenoid, and alkaloid compounds were synthesized into a conceptual framework linking environmental stress, plant physiological status, metabolic reprogramming, and active-compound quality.
Results: The reviewed evidence showed that secondary metabolism in medicinal plants is a dynamic system closely linked to plant physiological status. Drought, salinity, temperature, and radiation alter redox balance and, through controlled increases in reactive oxygen species, activate cellular signaling pathways and regulate the expression of key biosynthetic genes. These responses are strengthened by interactions among hormones such as jasmonic acid, salicylic acid, and abscisic acid and may redirect carbon flux toward the production of phenolic, terpenoid, and alkaloid compounds. Metabolic responses to stress were clearly nonlinear: mild stress often increased active-compound concentrations, whereas severe stress reduced metabolite-production capacity by limiting photosynthesis, energy supply, and carbon precursors. Morphological adjustments, including an increased glandular trichome density, may also enhance the capacity to produce certain medicinal compounds. Across studies, medicinal quality emerged as the result of interactions among photosynthetic status, resource allocation, redox and hormonal networks, and genetic capacity; therefore, similar stress intensity did not necessarily produce the same response across species or developmental stages. An increase in individual metabolite concentration did not necessarily translate into a higher total yield of the active compound because it could coincide with reduced biomass. Overall, controlled stress, appropriate timing of agronomic practices, and elicitor application were most effective when metabolic stimulation occurred without a severe reduction in growth and biomass.
Conclusion: The effects of environmental stress on medicinal-compound production depend on stress type and intensity, genotype, developmental stage, and photosynthetic capacity. Mild stress can enhance secondary-metabolite accumulation through redox signaling, hormonal pathways, and activation of biosynthetic genes, whereas severe stress can have the opposite effect by restricting photosynthesis and carbon supply. Therefore, active-compound concentration should be assessed alongside biomass and total metabolite yield. Determining the appropriate stress threshold and timing can serve as a scientific basis for the targeted use of controlled stress and elicitors to improve medicinal-plant quality.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Improvement and breeding

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Environmental Stress-Induced Reprogramming of Secondary Metabolism in Medicinal Plants: An Integrated Framework Linking Plant Physiology to Medicinal Compound Quality

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Volume 42, Issue 3 - Serial Number 129November 2026Pages 637-667

Volume 42, Issue 3 - Serial Number 129
November 2026
Pages 637-667