{"id":13972,"date":"2026-01-21T13:46:31","date_gmt":"2026-01-21T11:46:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/"},"modified":"2026-01-21T18:49:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-21T16:49:09","slug":"the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The 15 plants that Nasa says help you breathe better at home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Get comfortable and take a deep breath. The question is less trivial than it seems: <strong>what air are we breathing within the walls of our homes?<\/strong> While public attention focuses on urban smog, indoor pollution often remains underestimated, despite the fact that it comes from everyday sources such as <strong>paint, particleboard furniture, detergents, carpets and cigarette smoke<\/strong>. In well-insulated environments, these substances release volatile organic compounds-including <strong>formaldehyde, benzene and xylene-that <\/strong>tend to accumulate.  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-lo-studio-nasa\"><strong>The Nasa study<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>It was <strong>Nasa<\/strong> that addressed this issue. In the late 1980s, the space agency initiated <a href=\"https:\/\/ntrs.nasa.gov\/citations\/19930073015\">research<\/a> aimed at evaluating the use of common ornamental plants to improve indoor air quality. The context was life support systems for space stations and orbiting bases, sealed locations where air control is crucial.  <\/p>\n\n<p>In the 1988 report, the researchers analyzed about fifteen indoor species and <strong>measured their ability to remove specific chemical pollutants<\/strong>. The results showed that some plants, through the combined action of leaves and microorganisms in the root substrate, were able to significantly reduce the concentration of several volatile organic compounds. As <strong>Bill Wolverton<\/strong>, then senior scientist at the <strong>John C. Stennis Space Center<\/strong>, explained, &#8220;Indoor plants can be a very effective component of a system designed to ensure pollution-free home and work environments.&#8221;  <\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-come-funziona-la-depurazione-biologica\"><strong>How biological purification works<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>The mechanism identified by the research is not limited to photosynthesis. <strong>Pollutants are absorbed through the stomata of leaves<\/strong> and transported to the roots, where soil bacteria and fungi contribute to their degradation. It is a <strong>continuous, silent, energy-free process<\/strong> that makes plants active elements of the home microclimate. <\/p>\n\n<p>Prominent among the plants analyzed in the study is <strong>Phalangium <\/strong>(Chlorophytumcomosum), which is effective against formaldehyde, xylene and toluene. <strong>Sansevieria trifasciata<\/strong> stands out for its ability to release oxygen even at night. <strong>Spathiphyllum<\/strong> was found to be useful in absorbing benzene, ammonia and trichloroethylene, while <strong>Aloe vera<\/strong> contributes to the reduction of formaldehyde and benzene.  <\/p>\n\n<p>Completing the list are <strong>Boston Fern<\/strong>, <strong>English Ivy<\/strong>, <strong>Pothos<\/strong>, <strong>Dracaena<\/strong>, <strong>Bamboo Palm<\/strong>, <strong>Areca<\/strong>, <strong>Gerbera<\/strong>, <strong>Philodendron<\/strong>, <strong>Ficus elastica<\/strong>, <strong>Ficus benjamina<\/strong>, and <strong>Aglaonema:<\/strong> species that differ in appearance and maintenance but share a function beyond aesthetics.<\/p>\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\" id=\"h-piante-e-purificatori-ruoli-diversi-non-alternativi\"><strong>Plants and purifiers: different, not alternative roles<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n<p>Nasa studies do not put plants in direct competition with mechanical purifiers. The research, which was created for closed, sealed environments, indicates that<strong> vegetation can help reduce some chemical pollutants,<\/strong> but <strong>within broader air quality control systems.<\/strong> Plants act on specific volatile organic compounds, while mechanical devices remain more effective on fine dust, allergens and particulate matter. The relevant finding, for the home environment, is that greenery is not simply a decorative element, but a <strong>functional component of the indoor microclimate<\/strong>.   <\/p>\n\n<p>Before investing in a new electronic device, it is therefore worth looking carefully at a vacant corner of the living room. A plant alone will not solve the problem of indoor pollution, but it can make a measurable contribution to making the air more breathable. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>From space to our homes: what research says about green allies against indoor pollution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35,"featured_media":13973,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAowscnaCw:productID":"","_app_feed_target":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1631],"tags":[2067,1675,2127],"class_list":["post-13972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-living","tag-home","tag-inquinamento","tag-plants"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.5 (Yoast SEO v26.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The 15 plants that Nasa says help you breathe better at home &#8226; Ultima Bozza<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"From space to our homes: what research says about green allies against indoor pollution\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 15 plants that Nasa says help you breathe better at home &#8226; Ultima Bozza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"From space to our homes: what research says about green allies against indoor pollution\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Ultima Bozza\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ultimabozza\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T11:46:31+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-01-21T16:49:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/piante-casa.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1440\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Riccardo Liguori\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@ultimabozza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@ultimabozza\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Riccardo Liguori\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Riccardo Liguori\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#\/schema\/person\/831c7f9e2ea1901e1b151a723305668e\"},\"headline\":\"The 15 plants that Nasa says help you breathe better at home\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-01-21T11:46:31+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-01-21T16:49:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/\"},\"wordCount\":493,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/piante-casa.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"home\",\"inquinamento\",\"plants\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Living\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2026\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/ultimabozza.it\/en\/the-15-plants-that-nasa-says-help-you-breathe-better-at-home\/\",\"name\":\"The 15 plants that Nasa says help you breathe better at home &#8226; 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