Chromium and plant health: A prospective study of toxicity to remediation and restoration of the environment

Nature holds everything in the universe. Any change to its constituents i.e., soil, water, and air, imposes serious consequences on the life it holds. An adaption to modernized technologies often progresses with the introduction of harmful contaminants such as heavy metals into the environment. Heavy metals not only threaten the ecosystem but contributes tremendously to health adversaries among inhabiting human population. Being recalcitrant, its release from industries perturbs the ecological balance and as such manifests serious consequences on the growth and development of plants. It employs carriers of essential ions for uptake at the root surface followed by translocation to aerial parts of the plant and subsequent accumulation imparts severe toxicity to plants. It evokes serious perturbations to plant health via, modification to morphological and physiological features, and alteration of the biochemical parameters through enhancement in the production of reactive oxidative and nitrogen species. Interference with the growth parameters of plants proceeds with their complexation to organic moieties for compartmentalization in vacuole or enhancement in the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants. The present study covers information on the uptake, transport, and distribution along with its toxicity in the plant system, and remediation strategies for adaptation towards the restoration of the environment.(c) 2023 SAAB. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.