Significant Role of Ornamental Plants as Air Purifiers – A Review

Generally, plants have been labelled as the ―lungs of cities‖ (McPherson, 2005) because they have the ability to remove contaminants from the air that is breathed. Acting as natural filters and reducing air pollution, it has been shown that plants generate health benefits by reducing the mortality rate and reducing visits to the hospital (Powe and Willis, 2004). Air pollution has been becoming a necessary evil with rapid industrialization and urbanization around the world, after it results in kinds of human health problems, such as ophthalmic, respiratory and cardiovascular diseases (Yang and Liu 2011). Naturally everyone likes to breathe fresh, clean air. But the atmosphere, that invisible yet essential ocean of different gases called air, is as susceptible to pollution from human activities as are water and land environments (Barfield et al., 1992). According to the WHO report, about 10 to 15 % of the total population of India is suffering from common cold, bronchitis, asthma, hay fever etc. These diseases are no doubt airborne and spread the infection from several hundred kilometers under favourable atmospheric conditions. Dust and soot in the air contribute to between 20 and 200 deaths each day in America‘s biggest cities. Ill health International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences ISSN: 2319-7706 Volume 6 Number 8 (2017) pp. 2591-2606 Journal homepage: http://www.ijcmas.com