Role of Fluoride on Soil, Plant and Human Health: A Review on Its Sources, Toxicity and Mitigation Strategies

Abstract

In recent scenario, fluorosis is now going to be a severe problem throughout the globe due to toxic effects of fluoride (F) on both plants, animals and humans. Natural geological sources and increased industrialization have contributed greatly to the increasing incidence of F-induced human and animal health issues. The toxic effects of high doses of F may adversely affect human health by causing skeletal fluorosis, dental fluorosis, bone fractures, the formation of kidney stones, decreased birth rates, weakening of thyroid functionality and impair intelligence, particularly in children. High concentrations of F in soil may seriously threaten the life of plants, devastate soil microbial activity, disrupt the soil ecology and causes soil and water pollution. Hydrogen fluorides (HF) in gaseous form accumulated in the leaves of sensitive plants against a concentration gradient and HF mainly damages the plant by entering into its body in the form of gas and affects a variety of plant physiological processes. In this review we discuss about the effect of fluoride toxicity on plant, human and soil health and its mitigation strategies.

Fluoride and Dental Health: An Overview of Its History, Occurrence, Intake and Metabolism in Human, Methods of Delivery and Harmful Effects

“…Acute toxicity is a rapid intake of an excess dose of F over a short period of time, but the ingestion of acute fatal dose of F is very rare [26]. The single dose of F that causes acute toxic effects is 5-10 mg F/kg body weight [27].…”

The supply of macro- and microelements to cotton plants at different distances from the pipes of fertilizer production factory

“…Bioaccumulation of uoride in different plant parts vary depending on its transfer from soil solution to roots and translocation from root to shoot (Chatterjee et al, 2020;Cronin et al, 2000;Makete et al, 2022;Tressaud, 2019).…”

The Supply of Macro- and Microelements to Cotton Plants at Different Distances from a Fertilizer Production Factory

“…Some of this amount can pass into leaf mesophyll from technogenic dust [21]. The bioaccumulation of fluoride in different organs of cotton varies, depending on its transfer from the soil solution to the roots and its translocation from the root to the shoot [16,18,21,24].…”

“…However, they become toxic to living organisms when their concentration exceeds a certain threshold [13]. Many studies have shown that the effect of pollutants on plants depends on their concentrations in the atmosphere and the duration of exposure [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]. It is generally recognized that the damage first manifests itself at the biochemical level (impairment of photosynthesis, respiration, biosynthesis of lipids, proteins, etc.)…”