Simultaneous influence of light and CO2 on phytoremediation performance and physiological response of plants to formaldehyde

Phytoremediation technology is an effective method to remove formaldehyde indoors, but the purification capacity and physiological response of plants to formaldehyde under the simultaneous influence of light and -CO2 have not been examined in previous studies. In this study, formaldehyde fumigation experiments were conducted on the -C-3 plants Epipremnum aureum A. and Chlorophytum comosum L., and the crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) plant Dieffenbachia maculate A. The phytoremediation performance and physiological response of plants were studied. The initial concentration of formaldehyde was established at 11.950 +/- 1.442 mg center dot m(-3); the light intensities were 448 +/- 7 Lx, 1628 +/- 22 Lx, and 3259 +/- 22 Lx, respectively; and the concentrations of -CO2 were 455 +/- 29 ppm, 978 +/- 50 ppm, 2020 +/- 66 ppm, and 3006 +/- 95 ppm, respectively. The results indicated that the highest purification rates of formaldehyde by E. aureum, D. maculata, and C. comosum were 55.8%, 43.7%, and 53.2%, respectively. The light intensity had a positive effect on the formaldehyde purification rates of all three plants and positively stimulated peroxidase (POD) activity, while the -CO2 concentration had no significant impact on the formaldehyde purification capacity and plants' physiological characteristics. Exposure to formaldehyde inhibited formaldehyde dehydrogenase (FADH) activity and positively stimulated catalase (CAT) activity. The superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity positively correlated with the formaldehyde purification capacity of plants.