Rapid industrial development is responsible for severe problems related to environmental pollution. Many human and industrial activities require different metals and, as a result, great amounts of metals/heavy metals are discharged into the water and soil making them dangerous for both human and ecosystems and this is being aggravated by intensive demand and utilization. In addition, compounds with metal binding capacities are needed to be used for several purposes including in activities related to the removal and/or recovery of metals from effluents and soils, as metals’ corrosion inhibitors, in the synthesis of metallic nanoparticles and as metal related pharmaceuticals, preferably a with minimum risks associated to the environment. Plants are able to synthesize an uncountable number of compounds with numerous functions, including compounds with metal binding capabilities. In fact, some of the plants’ secondary metabolites can bind to various metals through different mechanisms, as such they are excellent sources of such compounds due to their high availability and vast diversity. In addition, the use of plant-based compounds is desirable from an environmental and economical point of view, thus being potential candidates for utilization in different industrial activities, replacing conventional physiochemical methods. This review focuses on the ability of some classes of compounds that can be found in relatively high concentrations in plants, having good metal binding capacities and thus with potential utilization in metal based industrial activities and that can be involved in the progressive development of new environmentally friendly strategies.

工业的快速发展造成了与环境污染有关的严重问题。许多人类和工业活动需要不同的金属，因此大量金属/重金属被排放到水和土壤中，对人类和生态系统都构成危险，而密集的需求和利用正在加剧这种情况。此外，需要将具有金属结合能力的化合物用于多种目的，包括与从污水和土壤中去除和/或回收金属有关的活动、作为金属的腐蚀抑制剂、合成金属纳米颗粒和作为金属相关的药品，最好是与环境相关的风险最小的药品。植物能够合成无数具有多种功能的化合物，包括具有金属结合能力的化合物。事实上，一些植物的次生代谢物可以通过不同的机制与各种金属结合，因此它们是此类化合物的极好来源，因为它们具有高可用性和广泛的多样性。此外，从环境和经济的角度来看，基于植物的化合物的使用是可取的，因此是在不同工业活动中使用的潜在候选者，可替代传统的物理化学方法。本综述侧重于某些类别的化合物的能力，这些化合物可以在植物中以相对较高的浓度发现，具有良好的金属结合能力，因此在金属工业活动中具有潜在的利用潜力，可以参与新的环境友好型化合物的逐步开发。策略。