Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination, Human Health Risks and Phytoremediation Potential of Lotus Plant (Nelumbo nucifera) from Vellayani Lake, South India.
Sasidharan S, Pattathil V, Sarasamma JD
Phytoremediation
Lotus plants grown in polluted ponds — including ornamental water gardens — can accumulate toxic heavy metals in their tissues, meaning flowers or roots harvested for food, tea, or decoration may carry hidden contamination worth knowing about.
Scientists looked at lotus plants living in a lake in southern India to see how much toxic metal pollution the plants were soaking up from the water and mud. They also calculated whether that pollution poses a health risk to local people. The good news is that lotus plants may actually help clean up polluted water over time by pulling those metals out of the environment — a process called phytoremediation.
Key Findings
Lotus (Nelumbo nucifera) growing in Vellayani Lake showed measurable uptake of heavy metals from lake sediment and water.
The study assessed human health risks associated with heavy metal exposure via the lake environment, indicating potential concern for local populations.
Lotus demonstrated phytoremediation potential, suggesting it could be used as a low-cost, plant-based strategy to reduce heavy metal levels in contaminated freshwater systems.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Researchers tested the sacred lotus plant growing in a South Indian lake for heavy metal contamination and found it absorbs pollutants from the water and sediment. The study evaluated both the health risks to people who use the lake and the lotus plant's potential to help clean up the contamination naturally.
Species Mentioned
Was this useful?
Phytoremediation Capacity of Brassica juncea for PFAS-Contaminated Soils
PFAS chemicals — found in nonstick pans, firefighting foam, and food packaging — have quietly contaminated farmland and drinking water sources near you, and ...
Lotus identifies various plant taxa:Nelumbo, a genus of aquatic plants with showy flowers known as lotuses, having two extant species: Nelumbo nucifera, the Sacred or Indian lotus Nelumbo lutea, the American or yellow lotus Certain species of Nymphaea, a genus of aquatic plants known as water lil...