Being a “plant mom” has become a common fad among many teenagers and young adults.
Plant life has become a topic that Americans have more interest in. Although people keep plants in their homes, the majority of plant owners do not know the actual benefits that come from household plants.
A breakthrough has been made by an Oswego State professor and several undergraduate students. For the past few years, Vadoud Niri and his undergraduate chemistry students, Timothy Jones and Geoffrey Peterson, have worked to find household plants that eliminate common hazardous toxins.
After Niri experienced the harsh chemicals from a nearby nail salon his wife visits regularly, he said he concluded that the strong toxins in common places can be extremely hazardous to one’s health. Niri decided to look for a solution that is not too costly for the average American.
Niri, Jones and Peterson began experimenting hazardous chemicals on common plants: jade, spider, bromeliad, Caribbean tree cactus and a dracaena. The main goal was to remove any toxic volative organic compounds (VOC) with the use of these plants. After further studies, they concluded that dracaena removed nearly 94 percent of acetone in the experiment.
Jones said these household plants can benefit people’s health.
“The study was more focused on chemical exposure rather than virus or bacteria exposure,” Jones said.
The benefits of the plants target things such as “chemicals that induce effects like irritation, nausea, and more severely, cancer.” Jones said that, despite the plants not targeting things like viruses and bacteria, they can help with those things because of the plants’ benefits to air quality.
Biochemistry major Skye Prosper said she has an extreme love for plants that stems from her mother’s obsession with gardening. Although she has known plants benefit air quality through photosynthesis, she said she was surprised to hear the extreme benefits that come from certain household plants.
Prosper was once given a spider plant that her mom grew on her own and she has two little cacti in her dorm room. Despite Prosper’s love for plants, she said the cost can be a drawback.
“Plants can be very expensive, with buying dirt and pots and once they get bigger you have to move them to a bigger pot,” Prosper said. “It’s actually a whole process.”
Niri said he was not originally a fan of household plants.
“After seeing how these plants can amazingly uptake the toxic chemicals, I am a huge fan now and I even have some plants in my office in Shineman Center,” Niri said. “Houseplants give your home or office both beauty and fresh air.”
In the future, Niri and his research assistants, Jones and Peterson plan to do research on more plants and toxic compounds. This discovery has brought them to the National Meeting and Exposition of the American Chemical Society (ACS).
