Phytoremediation potential of plants for ecofriendly dye cleanup

Abstract

Synthetic dyes are major environmental contaminants due to their persistence, toxicity, and resistance to conventional treatment methods. Although phytoremediation is widely recognized as an eco-friendly strategy for dye removal, its underlying plant-mediated mechanisms remain insufficiently synthesized. This review integrates current knowledge on the physiological, biochemical, and rhizospheric processes involved in plant-mediated dye remediation. Plants remove or transform dyes through a series of interconnected processes including surface adsorption, uptake and phytoaccumulation, enzymatic degradation, sequestration within plant tissues, and rhizosphere-mediated microbial degradation. Both aquatic macrophytes and terrestrial plants have demonstrated significant capacity for dye removal via these integrated mechanisms. Understanding these interactions provides valuable insight into phytoremediation as a sustainable strategy for mitigating dye pollution. It also identifies key directions for improving remediation efficiency.