Environmental pollution in Malaysia: are medicinal plants potential phytoremediation agents?

Abstract

Phytoremediation is a plant-based approach to controlling pollution, an alternative to the conventional physical and chemical remediation techniques. In Malaysia many small-scale studies on phytoremediation have been conducted. However, the establishment of phytoremediation strategy at larger field sites is rather lacking. Depending on plant species and existing environmental factors, bioactive compounds from medicinal plants have the potential for remediating specific pollutants. The wealth of plant resources in Malaysia presents an opportunity for the phytoremediation technique to be applied as part of the environmental management programmes in future. Nevertheless, the ability of medicinal plants to accumulate pollutants has led to safety concerns when the plants are used as therapeutic agents or medicine. This paper reports the current status of environmental pollution in Malaysia and the potential uses of medicinal plants to treat pollutants in the environment.