Lepakshi Md Bhakshu Editor

T. Pullaiah, PhD, is a former Professor at the Department of Botany at Sri Krishnadevaraya University in Andhra Pradesh, India, where he has taught for more than 35 years. He has held several positions at the university, including Dean of the Faculty of Biosciences, Head of the Department of Botany, Head of the Department of Biotechnology, and member of Academic Senate. He was President of the Indian Botanical Society (2014), President of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy (2013), and a Fellow of Andhra Pradesh Akademi of Sciences. He was awarded the Panchanan Maheshwari Gold Medal, the Dr. G. Panigrahi Memorial Lecture Award of the Indian Botanical Society, the Prof. Y.D. Tyagi Gold Medal of the Indian Association for Angiosperm Taxonomy, and a best teacher award from the Government of Andhra Pradesh. Under his guidance, 54 students obtained their doctoral degrees. He has authored over 50 books, edited 20 books, and published over 330 research papers, including reviews and book chapters. His books include Advances in Cell and Molecular Diagnostics, Ethnobotany of India (5 volumes), Red Sanders: Silviculture and Conservation, Monograph on Brachystelma and Ceropegia in India, Flora of Andhra Pradesh (5 volumes), Flora of Eastern Ghats (7 volumes), Flora of Telangana (3 volumes), Encyclopaedia of World Medicinal Plants (7 volumes, 2nd edition), Encyclopaedia of Herbal Antioxidants (3 volumes), Global Biodiversity (4 volumes), and Handbook of Research on Herbal Liver Protection.He also has several books in preparation now. Dr. Pullaiah was a member of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). He received his PhD from Andhra University, India, and attended Moscow State University, Russia.

K. Venkata Ratnam, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany at Rayalaseema University, Kurnool, India. He has 12 years teaching (both under- and postgraduate) and 18 years of research experience in ethnobotany and biodiversity conservation studies. He has published 36 research papers in national and international journals, presented 17 research papers in international and national conferences, and participated at 18 national and international symposia. He received two best poster paper awards at national-level symposia. Dr. Ratnam received postdoctoral and research associate fellowships from the University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. He completed his master’s degree in Botany at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, and MPhil and PhD from the Department of Botany at Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anantapur, India.

Mallappa Kumara Swamy, PhD, is Professor and Head of the Department of Biotechnology at East West First Grade College, Bengaluru, India. Dr. Swamy has authored 65 research publications in peer-reviewed journals and 53 book chapters. Recently, he has edited 10 books published by Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.; one book by CRC Press, USA; one book by Studium Press, India; and one edited book volume by Elsevier. Dr. Swamy also serves as an editorial board member and reviewer for several high-impact factor international journals. His current research is focused on cell and tissue culture technology, phytochemistry, phytocompounds isolation, production and their biological evaluation, and nanotechnology for medical applications. He has more than 17 years of teaching and research experience in the fields of plant biotechnology, secondary metabolite production, phytochemistry, and bioactive studies. He completed his postdoctoral research at the Department of Crop Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Serdang, Malaysia. Before that, he had worked as an Associate Professor and Head of the Department of Biotechnology, Padmashree Institute of Management and Sciences, Bangalore University, Bengaluru, India. He received his PhD (Biotechnology) from Acharya Nagarjuna University, Guntur, India.

Lepakshi Md. Bhakshu, PhD, is Assistant Professor in the Department of Botany at PVKN. Govt. College (A), Chittoor, India. He has published 24 research publications in national and international journals, presented eight research papers in international and national conferences, and participated at 20 national and international symposia. He received two best poster paper awards at national-level symposia. He worked as a project fellow at the Environment Protection Training and Research Institute (EPTRI), Hyderabad, and was a co-author of the Proceedings of the National Seminar on the Conservation of Eastern Ghatsm, published by the EPTRI. He has 15 years of teaching and 20 years of research experience in ethnobotany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemical studies, and biodiversity conservation. He is recipient of a postdoctoral fellowship and the Dr. DS Kothari National Fellowship (UGC) from the University of Hyderabad, Telangana, India. Dr. Bhakshu completed his master’s degree in Botany at Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, and PhD at the Department of Botany in 2002, Sri Krishnadevaraya University, Anathapuramu, India.