Cadmium Contamination in the Soil Environment: Impact on Plant Growth and Human Health
Ashim Sikdar, Parimala Gnana Soundari Arockiam Jeyasundar, Biswojit Debnath, Md Shakhawat Hossain, Md Ashraful Islam, Golam Jalal Ahammed
Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) is one of the common toxic heavy metals (HMs), having harmful effects on the environment and potential health hazards allied with food chain contamination due to higher mobility, easy integration capacity in ion channels, and prolonged persistence. At present, Cd toxicity has become a serious social issue, since the use of Cd has increased alarmingly owing to industrial development and advanced agricultural practices throughout the world. In the current chapter, we aim to summarize the latest research outcomes on the consequence of Cd toxicity on plants and human health. We discuss the sources of Cd and the mechanisms behind the contamination of agricultural soil along with the environment by Cd. The chapter also covers the exploration of Cd uptake, its transport and accumulation in plants, and the detrimental effects of Cd on seed germination, plant growth, photosynthetic efficiency, mineral nutrition, protein homeostasis, antioxidant potential, reactive oxygen species generation, oxidative damage, and relevant metabolic changes. The current knowledge of recent research advances would aid future research for developing new approaches in recovering the hazardous effect of Cd on plants and human health as well as benefit the farming societies and consumers, thereby mitigating concerns about food safety.