{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,27]],"date-time":"2026-02-27T05:08:46Z","timestamp":1772168926518,"version":"3.50.1"},"update-to":[{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.152489.1","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]],"date-time":"2025-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753142400000}},{"DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.152489.2","type":"new_version","label":"New version","source":"publisher","updated":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]],"date-time":"2025-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753142400000}}],"reference-count":18,"publisher":"F1000 Research Ltd","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]],"date-time":"2025-07-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1753142400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["f1000research.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["F1000Res"],"abstract":"<ns3:p>\n                    Background Formaldehyde a commonly used embalming fluid for the preservation of cadavers, produces numerous short and long-term side effects on the students and staff working with it. Indoor plants have been shown to reduce atmospheric formaldehyde levels. The purpose of the study was to compare the efficacy of indoor plants in reducing formaldehyde levels in ambient air to levels deemed safe by WHO standards Methods The study was conducted in the storage room of the Anatomical dissection hall. 7 potted plants of one variety were kept in the storage room for 14 days and the Formaldehyde reading was measured using a VOC (Volatile Organic Compound) monitor. Then the same was done with no plant. This cycle was repeated 2 more times, with two different plant species. The three spieces of plants used for this study were as follows:\n                    <ns3:italic>Dracaena trifasciata<\/ns3:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <ns3:italic>Epipremnum aureum<\/ns3:italic>\n                    ,\n                    <ns3:italic>Spathiphyllum.<\/ns3:italic>\n                    Results The results were analysed and compared and it was determined that the effect of having a plant present versus having no plant present on the Formaldehyde concentration in the air was inconclusive as\n                    <ns3:italic>Dracaena trifasciata<\/ns3:italic>\n                    failed to reject the null hypothesis altogether (p-value&gt;0.05), while\n                    <ns3:italic>Epipremnum aureum<\/ns3:italic>\n                    and\n                    <ns3:italic>Spathiphyllum<\/ns3:italic>\n                    rejected the null hypothesis (p-value&lt;0.05), however they both had a weak positive correlation with formaldehyde concentration. Conclusion The efficacy of indoor plants in reducing formaldehyde levels in ambient air needs to be further explored and validated since all the prior studies conducted were in controlled environment and should be done in a real time scenario for its practical and beneficial uses.\n                  <\/ns3:p>","DOI":"10.12688\/f1000research.152489.3","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]],"date-time":"2025-07-22T09:55:10Z","timestamp":1753178110000},"page":"1249","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Can indoor plants reduce formaldehyde levels in the anatomy dissection hall? A study to evaluate the practicality of using plants in reducing formaldehyde levels"],"prefix":"10.12688","volume":"13","author":[{"given":"Adish G","family":"Joshi","sequence":"first","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Dhiren","family":"Punja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-0732-5468","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rohini","family":"Punja","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"2560","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","article-title":"Medical Management Guidelines for Formaldehyde. CAS# 50-00-0 UN# 1198, 2209 (formalin).","year":"n. d."},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"2216-2226","DOI":"10.4209\/aaqr.2016.04.0136","article-title":"Characterization and Exposure Assessment of Odor Emissions from Laser Cutting of Plastics in the Optical Film Industry.","volume":"16","author":"Y Chan","year":"2016","journal-title":"Aerosol Air Qual. Res."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"303-308","DOI":"10.1080\/10473289.2007.10465331","article-title":"Simultaneous removal of NO and SO2 by high-temperature fluidized zero-valent iron processes.","volume":"57","author":"S Chen","year":"2007","journal-title":"J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc."},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"13909-13928","DOI":"10.1007\/s11356-014-3240-x","article-title":"Can ornamental potted plants remove volatile organic compounds from indoor air? \u2014 a review.","volume":"21","author":"M Dela Cruz","year":"2014","journal-title":"Environ. Sci. Pollut. Res."},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"181-185","DOI":"10.5455\/jeos.20140915115950","article-title":"Prevalence of formaldehyde in indoor air of gross anatomy laboratory and cadaver storage room of a medical college.","volume":"3","author":"S Gahukar","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Environ. Occup. Sci."},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"77-90","DOI":"10.35762\/AER.2017.39.3.8","article-title":"Investigation of Formaldehyde in Gross Anatomy Laboratory: Area-Based and Exposure Levels, Ventilation, Health Risk and Clinical Symptoms.","volume":"39","author":"K Homwutthiwong","year":"2017","journal-title":"App. Envi. Res."},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.6084\/m9.figshare.25911100.v3","author":"A Joshi","year":"2024","journal-title":"figshare."},{"key":"ref7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"521-526","DOI":"10.21273\/JASHS.133.4.521","article-title":"Efficiency of Volatile Formaldehyde Removal by Indoor Plants: Contribution of Aerial Plant Parts versus the Root Zone.","volume":"133","author":"K Kim","year":"2008","journal-title":"J. Am. Soc. Hortic. Sci."},{"key":"ref17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"249-280","DOI":"10.1007\/s11157-023-09644-5","article-title":"Phytoremediation for the indoor environment: a state-of-the-art review.","volume":"22","author":"S Matheson","year":"2023","journal-title":"Rev. Environ. Sci. Biotechnol."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"35-61","DOI":"10.1007\/s00204-016-1733-8","article-title":"Re-evaluation of the WHO (2010) formaldehyde indoor air quality guideline for cancer risk assessment.","volume":"91","author":"G Nielsen","year":"2017","journal-title":"Arch. Toxicol."},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"86-94","DOI":"10.5455\/ajpbp.20180430034134","article-title":"Effects of formaldehyde inhalation on cardiopulmonary functions on medical students of College of Health Sciences, Nnamdi Azikiwe University during dissection classes.","volume":"7","author":"O Onyeka","year":"2018","journal-title":"A J. Physiol. Biochem. Pharmacol."},{"key":"ref10","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"689-695","DOI":"10.3155\/1047-3289.61.6.689","article-title":"Effect of temperature and humidity on formaldehyde emissions in temporary housing units.","volume":"61","author":"S Parthasarathy","year":"2011","journal-title":"J. Air Waste Manag. Assoc."},{"key":"ref18","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"26896-26906","DOI":"10.1039\/d3ra04015a","article-title":"Investigation of simultaneous volatile organic compound removal by indoor plants using solid phase microextraction-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.","volume":"13","author":"G Peterson","year":"2023 Sep 7","journal-title":"RSC Adv."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"403-409","DOI":"10.1136\/oem.60.6.403","article-title":"DNA-protein crosslinks and p53 protein expression in relation to occupational exposure to formaldehyde.","volume":"60","author":"J Shaham","year":"2003","journal-title":"Occup. Environ. Med."},{"key":"ref12","first-page":"1-10","article-title":"Levels of formaldehyde, phenol and ethanol in dissection room air and measures for reduction.","volume":"54","author":"N Shiraishi","year":"2006","journal-title":"Jpn J. Occup. Med. Traumatol."},{"key":"ref13","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"70","DOI":"10.4103\/ijpvm. IJPVM_269_16","article-title":"Phytoremediation of Formaldehyde from Indoor Environment by Ornamental Plants: An Approach to Promote Occupants Health.","volume":"9","author":"H Teiri","year":"2018","journal-title":"Int. J. Prev. Med."},{"key":"ref14","first-page":"11-15","article-title":"Plants and soil microorganisms: removal of formaldehyde, xylene, and ammonia from the indoor environment.","volume":"38","author":"B Wolverton","year":"1993","journal-title":"Journal of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences."},{"key":"ref15","first-page":"177-186","article-title":"Formaldehyde concentration in an anatomical dissection room with three different ventilation configurations using computational fluid dynamics.","volume":"18","author":"M Zuber","year":"2022","journal-title":"Eng. Sci."}],"container-title":["F1000Research"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v3\/xml","content-type":"application\/xml","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v3\/pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v3\/iparadigms","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]],"date-time":"2025-07-22T09:55:11Z","timestamp":1753178111000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v3"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]]},"references-count":18,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.12688\/f1000research.152489.3","relation":{"has-version":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.12688\/f1000research.152489.2","asserted-by":"subject"},{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.12688\/f1000research.152489.1","asserted-by":"subject"}],"has-review":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.5256\/f1000research.185228.r399863","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["2046-1402"],"issn-type":[{"value":"2046-1402","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2025,7,22]]},"assertion":[{"value":"Indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v3#article-reports","order":0,"name":"referee-status","label":"Referee status","group":{"name":"current-referee-status","label":"Current Referee Status"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.175209.r343897, Kumar Satish Ravi, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, Gorakhpur, Uttarakhand, 12 Dec 2024, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v2#referee-response-343897","order":0,"name":"referee-response-343897","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.167255.r333503, Ranganath Vallabhajosyula, Nanyang Technological University Singapore, Singapore,, 14 Nov 2024, version 1, 2 approved with reservations","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v1#referee-response-333503","order":1,"name":"referee-response-333503","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"<b>Rohini Punja<\/b>; \n<i>Posted: 22 Nov 2024<\/i>; We sincerely appreciate the reviewer's thoughtful and constructive feedback, which has provided valuable insights for improving our manuscript.  Reviewer Comment on Introduction: Response: We have added the details on formaldehyde composition and information about the standard concentration of formalin used for cadaver preservation in our institution, typically a 10% buffered formaldehyde solution, in the methods section. We have also specified the exact concentration of formaldehyde in the storage solution and its potential contribution to ambient formaldehyde levels. &quot;In this study, we used formalin with a standard concentration of 10% formaldehyde solution, prepared according to our department's established preservation protocol. All cadavers were preserved using identical formalin preparation methods to ensure consistency in formaldehyde exposure.&quot;  Reviewer Comment on Material and Methods: Response: We acknowledge the importance of providing comprehensive contextual information about the experimental environment to enhance the study's reproducibility. In the methodology section these additional details have been included: - Number of cadaveric specimens: Total of 15 preserved specimens - Storage solution details: 10% buffered formaldehyde solution - Storage unit dimensions: Metal preservation chambers, each approximately 2m x 1m x 1.5m - Total storage area volume: Approximately 21 cubic meters - Distance between plants: 25 cm (as originally stated) - Distance between plants and storage units: Approximately 50 cm - Plant arrangement: Centrally positioned in the storage room to ensure uniform distribution   Reviewer Comment on Results: Response: We have modified the results to include specific spatial relationships and added a supplementary analysis examining potential correlations between plant placement and formaldehyde concentration variations: &quot;Additional spatial analysis revealed subtle variations in formaldehyde concentration relative to plant placement. While plants were arranged equidistantly, micro-variations in ambient formaldehyde levels were observed, suggesting potential localized absorption effects that warrant further investigation.&quot;  Reviewer Comment on Discussion: Response: We have attempted to improve the discussion by providing more context about seasonal conditions during the study (summer season, specific temperature and humidity ranges) and clarifying movement restriction protocols: &nbsp; * No more than 2-3 personnel entries per day &nbsp; * Maximum 5 minutes per entry &nbsp; * Strict protocol to minimize air disturbance","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v3#referee-comment-12858","order":2,"name":"referee-comment-12858","label":"Referee Comment","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.175209.r348122, Yasar Sajjad, COMSATS University Islamabad, Islamabad, Islamabad Capital Territory, 03 Jan 2025, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v2#referee-response-348122","order":3,"name":"referee-response-348122","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"10.5256\/f1000research.175209.r348114, Choy Ker Woon, Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Shah Alam, 04 Feb 2025, version 2, indexed","URL":"https:\/\/f1000research.com\/articles\/13-1249\/v2#referee-response-348114","order":4,"name":"referee-response-348114","label":"Referee Report","group":{"name":"article-reports","label":"Article Reports"}},{"value":"The author(s) declared that no grants were involved in supporting this work","order":5,"name":"grant-information","label":"Grant Information"},{"value":"This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Licence, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.","order":0,"name":"copyright-info","label":"Copyright"}]}}