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Review
. 2024 Oct 20;13(20):2938.
doi: 10.3390/plants13202938.

Interaction Between Heavy Metals Posed Chemical Stress and Essential Oil Production of Medicinal Plants

Katalin Hubai  1 , Nora Kováts  1
Affiliations
Review

Interaction Between Heavy Metals Posed Chemical Stress and Essential Oil Production of Medicinal Plants

Katalin Hubai et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Plants exposed to abiotic stressors show diverse physiological, biochemical, and molecular responses. Biosynthesis of plant secondary metabolites-including essential oils-is a vital plant defense mechanism. As these bioactive compounds are widely used in the pharmaceutical, cosmetic and food industries, it is essential to understand how their production is affected in various environments. While interaction between specific abiotic stressors such as salt stress has been widely studied, relatively less information is available on how essential oil production is affected by toxic contaminants. Present review intends to give an insight into the possible interaction between chemical stress and essential oil production, with special regard to soil and air pollution. Available studies clearly demonstrate that heavy metal induced stress does affect quantity and quality of EOs produced, however, pattern seems ambiguous as nature of effect depends on the plant taxon and on the EO. Considering mechanisms, genetic studies clearly prove that exposure to heavy metals influences the expression of genes being responsible for EO synthesis.

Keywords: atmospheric pollution; essential oil production; heavy metal stress; medicinal plants; soil pollution.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Schematic diagram summarizing the mode of action of heavy metals on EO synthesis.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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