Reevaluating the role of secondary metabolites in cadmium phytoremediation.

This study investigates the role of secondary metabolites in the phytoremediation of cadmium-contaminated water using Pontederia parviflora and Salvinia auriculata. Unlike previous studies, which primarily focus on the physical removal of heavy metals by plants, our research explores the biochemical interactions between these plants secondary metabolites and cadmium ions. We employed liquid chromatography-diode array detector-mass spectrometry (LC-DAD-MS) to analyze the chemical composition of the plant extracts and assessed the impact of these metabolites on cadmium accumulation and removal efficiency.