Omar Bashir

Phytoremediation, an eco‐friendly and cost‐effective wastewater treatment method, applies the natural ability of plants to eliminate, convert or stabilize pollutants. This review was conducted using a structured literature approach based on PRISMA‐inspired guidelines to ensure transparency in study selection and synthesis. Despite the fact that the phytoremediation potential of aquatic macrophytes have been reported in a number of studies, a majority of the reviews have concentrated on individual species or even individual pollutant with little comparative and mechanistic analysis. To fill this gap, this review presents a comprehensive analysis of duckweed ( Lemna minor ) and water lettuce ( Pistia stratiotes ) as multipurpose phytoremediation for the removal of heavy metals, organic pollutants, and excess nutrients. The most important phytoremediation processes include rhizofiltration, phytoextraction, rhizodegradation, phytotransformation, phytovolatilization, phytostabilization, and their physiological and biochemical mechanisms. In contrast to previous reviews, the given work synthesizes the recent research on the interaction between plants and microbes, the nutrient assimilation mechanisms, and the emerging hybrid remediation strategies along with the comparison of the performance of the two plants under various conditions of wastewater. Large‐scale issues concerning biomass management, scalability, and site‐specific efficiency are examined, and possible solutions to the existing challenges to facilitate effective implementation are discussed. Altogether, duckweed and water lettuce are promising and sustainable resources of wastewater purification and possess strong potential for integration into circular bioeconomy systems and future environmental management approaches.

Growing environmental concerns surrounding conventional plastics have accelerated interest in protein‐based edible films as sustainable alternatives to petroleum‐derived food packaging materials. This article presents a critical and integrative analysis of recent advances in protein‐based edible films for food preservation, with particular emphasis on their composition, fabrication strategies, structure–property relationships and application potential. Proteins obtained from both plant and animal origins provide a diverse and renewable resource base for film development, with additional advantages arising from the valorization of agricultural, dairy, and seafood processing by‐products. A variety of fabrication techniques have been employed to produce protein‐based films, including solvent casting, extrusion, electrospinning, three‐dimensional printing, and electrohydrodynamic processing. Key performance attributes such as mechanical strength, moisture resistance, gas barrier efficiency and thermal stability are governed by molecular interactions, network density and processing conditions and are used to assess the suitability of these materials for packaging applications. Functional performance can be further tailored through the incorporation of plasticizers, cross‐linking agents, nanoparticles, and bioactive additives, enabling improvements in flexibility, durability, antimicrobial activity, and controlled release behavior. Although trade‐offs between flexibility, barrier properties and stability remain a key design challenge. Emerging approaches that integrate metal–organic frameworks offer new opportunities for the development of intelligent packaging systems capable of real‐time freshness monitoring. Despite significant progress, challenges remain in large‐scale manufacturing, standardization, regulatory compliance, and comprehensive environmental impact assessment. Consequently, a holistic evaluation that integrates material design, sustainability considerations, and consumer acceptance is essential for advancing protein‐based edible films toward practical and commercial adoption.