Potential roles of melatonin in mitigating the heavy metals toxicity in horticultural plants

Abstract

Heavy metals (HMs) pollution is one of the most important environmental and agricultural soil challenges, and it is mostly caused by anthropogenic activities. International agricultural and environmental research focuses on decreasing HMs toxicity from soils of farmland, and mitigating HMs phytotoxicity. Melatonin (MT), being a multifunctional molecule, has strong antioxidant properties and is widely used to alleviate abiotic stresses particularly HMs. MT, a newly discovered signaling molecule and plant growth regulator, is essential for plants to be resistant towards abiotic stress. Present research indicates that MT is useful in reducing the toxic effects of HMs in horticultural crop, offering a fresh strategy to reduce HMs contamination in horticultural plants. This review highlights studies investigating the function of MT in reducing HMs toxicity in horticultural plants as well as related physiological and environmental mechanisms, such as lowering HMs accumulation in the rhizosphere, resolving and isolating HMs locally, sustaining mineral nutrient content, boosting antioxidant defense mechanisms, and actively engaging with hormonal signaling. The objective this of this review is theoretical framework for managing the accumulation of HMs ions in horticultural plants cultivated in polluted soil.