Published Paper Details:

The ever-increasing rate of urbanization and industrialization has led to a rise in various forms of pollution in the ecosystem. Heavy metal is one such pollutant that has been widely spread and can affect the environment in different forms. They can accumulate readily in living systems including plants. Food crops or edible plants contaminated with heavy metals can be consumed by humans and result in various health issues. Food crops are a necessity in the human diet and contamination of them can be harmful. In this review, we focus on heavy metals accumulation in different crops, their source, effects on nutrient contents on the plants, and their health risk. From the various reports, we can understand that the type of plants, and the ecosystem in which they are grown plays a major role in the accumulation of heavy metals. They can be classified as excluders, accumulators, and hyperaccumulators according to their affinity to accumulate metals. Heavy metal accumulation can also influence the nutrient content of the plants, which can be a reason for nutrient deficiency in the human population.