Phytoremediation is a biological method for pollution control and a suitable alternative to conventional physical and chemical methods. However, plants have a different regulatory system that acts to cope with stress and therefore adapt themselves to contaminated soils. The monitoring system acts as an inhibitor to neutralize the toxic effects of these heavy metals through detoxification, precipitation (deposition of sparingly soluble salts on the membrane surface) and intensification of the enzyme system. Depending on the plant species and the environmental factors present, bioactive compounds of medicinal plants have the potential to remediate specific pollutants. Medicinal and aromatic plants used for phytoremediation may not have a high phytoremediation potential compared to other agricultural and woody plants, but due to the production of the final product (secondary metabolites) without heavy metals and also the economic feasibility of their secondary metabolites, they can be used as suitable plants for phytoremediation. However, the ability of medicinal plants to accumulate pollutants has caused concerns during medicinal use, in which case the maximum permissible level of heavy metals recommended by the World Health Organization should be observed. In the present study, a review of phytoremediation by aromatic and medicinal plants and how they work against heavy metals was conducted.
Khodadadi Z, moudi M, Mousavi Kouhi S M, Hosseinzadeh M S. A Review of Phytoremediation using some Medicinal and Aromatic Plant Species. Journal of Biosafety 2024; 17 (1) :17-36 URL: http://journalofbiosafety.ir/article-1-549-en.html