Plant Molecular Pharming For Human Diseases

Infectious diseases pose an increasing threat to global health. The world has experienced many outbreaks due to Emerging Infectious Diseases (EIDs) in the 21st century. Vaccination proves to be the most successful public health intervention to counter such outbreaks. Vaccines against many diseases are available. Most of these vaccines either consist of live or attenuated strains, thus posing health risks. There is a need for new and safe vaccines to prevent and mitigate the impact of outbreaks due to emerging and endemic infectious diseases. The requisition of plant-based medicine is increasing day by day because of their non-toxic nature with no to very few side effects and readily available at a reasonable cost. In the present chapter, we will discuss the importance of plant molecular pharming (PMP) with its perspective on human diseases. Several advantages of PMP in relation to the United Nations’ sustainable development goals (SDGs) will also be deliberated.

Keywords: COVID-19, Human diseases, Plant molecular pharming, Sustainable development goals, World health organization.