Department of Pharmacognosy, Babu Banarasi Das National Institute of Technology and Management, Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Indian J Pharmacol. 2011 May;43(3):246-53. doi: 10.4103/0253-7613.81505.
Heavy metals are natural constituents of the earth's crust, but indiscriminate human activities have drastically altered their geochemical cycles and biochemical balance. This results in accumulation of metals in plant parts having secondary metabolites, which is responsible for a particular pharmacological activity. Prolonged exposure to heavy metals such as cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, and zinc can cause deleterious health effects in humans. Molecular understanding of plant metal accumulation has numerous biotechnological implications also, the long term effects of which might not be yet known.
重金属是地壳的天然组成部分，但人类的肆意活动极大地改变了它们的地球化学循环和生物化学平衡。这导致了具有次生代谢物的植物部分金属的积累，这是造成特定药理活性的原因。人类长期接触镉、铜、铅、镍和锌等重金属会对健康造成有害影响。对植物金属积累的分子理解也具有许多生物技术意义，其长期影响也许还不为人知。
