Fungal infections have been increasing continuously worldwide, especially in immunocompromised individuals. Fungi, regarded as eukaryotic pathogens, have many similarities to the host cells, which inhibit anti-fungal drug development progress. Various fungal model systems have been studied, and it was concluded that Candida spp. is the most common disease-causing fungus. Candida species are well known to cause infections not only in our mouth, skin, and vagina, but they are also a frequent cause of life-threatening hospital bloodstream infections. The morphological and developmental pathways of Candida have been studied extensively, providing insight into the fungus development. Candida albicans is known to be the most pathogenic species responsible for a variety of infections in humans. Conventional anti-fungal drugs, mainly azoles drugs available in the market, have been used for years developing resistance in C. albicans. Hence, the production of new anti-fungal drugs, which require detailed molecular knowledge of fungal pathogenesis, needs to be encouraged. Therefore, this review targets the new approach of "Green Medicines" or the phytochemicals and their secondary metabolites as a source of novel anti-fungal agents to overcome the drug resistance of C. albicans, their mechanism of action, and their combined effects with the available anti-fungal drugs.

Nigella sativa is an annual herb identified as having curative and remedial properties for treating the certain health conditions namely, asthma, nasal congestion, bronchitis, and metabolic disorders due to its immune boosting and antioxidant benefits. Studies have shown that the chemical constituents of N. sativa, especially thymoquinone, have renoprotective effects against nephrotoxic agents induced kidney complications. Many drugs that are used in the treatment of cancer are known to induce nephrotoxicity. Many studies have been analyzed and reported in which the various chemotherapeutic agents such as doxorubicin, cisplatin, gentamicin, and methotrexate are used to induce nephrotoxicity. Thymoquinone has certain protective properties such as antioxidant activity, antiinflammatory and antiapoptotic properties that renders it as a potential therapeutic target for the treatment of induced renal diseases. In this chapter, the protective roles of N. sativa against the induced renal disorders such as nephrotoxicity, renal ischemia, and diabetic nephropathy will be discussed. Various experimental studies carried out in this regard will be analyzed and discussed.

Autoimmune disorders are complex inflammatory disorders. These disorders are generally characterized by failure of body to recognize its own organs or tissue and induction of aberrant immune response toward itself which leads to pathological changes and clinical manifestations. Although the exact etiology of autoimmune disorders remains elusive, several genetic, pathogenic and environmental factors have been recognized that play a role in establishment of autoimmune diseases. A number of polymorphisms have been in reported in association with several autoimmune disorders. Familial and twin studies report increased risk of several systemic autoimmune diseases among the relatives of patients in systemic autoimmune disease setting and monozygotic twins show more concordance than dizygotic twins. This reflects the role of genetic inheritance in autoimmune diseases however, the absence of complete disease concordance in monozygotic twins vouches for the role of additional factors. Some genetic variants are shown to increase the susceptibility while others may provide protection against the disease. Genetic variability in the components of both innate and adaptive are implicated in autoimmune diseases. With no definitive cure of autoimmune diseases available that could cause total remission till now the goals of treatment are to keep the symptoms controlled, prevent complete organ failures and manage the therapies side effect. The advances in field human genetics have led to identification of a number of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the insights in molecular mechanism with which these SNPs affect autoimmune disease has helped to develop target specific therapies that has changed the paradigm of the approaches made. SNPs locate in genes or a regulatory region near gene and alter the expression of genes leading to translation of a modified protein leading to development or increase in susceptibility of a particular diseases. The SNPs identified underline the need for proper genetic evaluation and can act as biomarker for presence and characterization of specific autoimmune disease which can lead to early interventions and improved outcomes.