JEECE 3.1 Journal

To examine lead (Pb) accumulation and distribution, and its effects on growth and nutrient content, Solanum melongena seedlings were grown in pot culture conditions in a glasshouse. The experiment was arranged in a randomised block design with 75, 150, and 300 mg litre-1 Pb applications, and replicated 3 times. The highest Pb applications represent severely contaminated land, the lowest representing above average pollution levels in industrial situations. Growth parameters such as root elongation and plant height; fresh and dry biomass of root, shoot, and leaf; leaf area; mineral elements (Ca, Mg, K, P, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn); chlorophyll content; and stomatal parameters were measured in roots, shoots, and leaves. The control treatment provided typical values for this plant as a reference, grown in alkaline soils. Growth parameters such as root elongation and plant height; fresh and dry biomass of root, shoot, and leaf; and leaf area were negatively affected by increasing Pb concentrations. Growth toxicity index increased as the concentration of Pb increased. Exposure to excess Pb caused accumulation of Pb in roots, shoots, and leaves of eggplant seedlings. At the higher Pb concentrations, roots accumulated 6-fold more Pb than shoots and 4-fold more than leaves. The highest level of Pb generally inhibited the uptake of all mineral elements compared with the low-level Pb treatment. The results of this experiment show the phytotoxicity of increasing Pb, which is apparent from the reduction of chlorophyll concentration in eggplant. In addition, a negative effect was determined by Pb concentration on stomatal parameters of stomata density, stomata length-width, and stomatal index in this study.

Water

Heavy metal(oid)s (HMs) contamination in soil directly related to food contamination and human health. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of HMs accumulation in eggplant irrigated through different water sources. Water samples were collected from three distinct sources, namely urban and rural sewage, urban and rural canal water, and urban and rural tube well water. A total of 20, 9, and 6 samples were obtained from each respective source. Soil samples were collected, with three replications each, from two layers i.e., 0–15 cm and 15–30 cm depth. Results depicted that, in irrigation water samples, turbidity was in this order: sewage water > canal water > tube well samples, while average total dissolved solids TDS) was in this order: canal water > sewage water > and tube well water. The overall HMs concentrations in all three sources of irrigation water samples were above the permissible limits of Punjab Environmental Quality Standards PEQs). The level of H...

To examine lead (Pb) accumulation and distribution, and its effects on growth and nutrient content, Solanum melongena seedlings were grown in pot culture conditions in a glasshouse. The experiment was arranged in a randomised block design with 75, 150, and 300 mg litre -1 Pb applications, and replicated 3 times. The highest Pb applications represent severely contaminated land, the lowest representing above average pollution levels in industrial situations. Growth parameters such as root elongation and plant height; fresh and dry biomass of root, shoot, and leaf; leaf area; mineral elements (Ca, Mg, K, P, Fe, Zn, Cu, and Mn); chlorophyll content; and stomatal parameters were measured in roots, shoots, and leaves. The control treatment provided typical values for this plant as a reference, grown in alkaline soils. Growth parameters such as root elongation and plant height; fresh and dry biomass of root, shoot, and leaf; and leaf area were negatively affected by increasing Pb concentrations. Growth toxicity index increased as the concentration of Pb increased. Exposure to excess Pb caused accumulation of Pb in roots, shoots, and leaves of eggplant seedlings. At the higher Pb concentrations, roots accumulated 6-fold more Pb than shoots and 4-fold more than leaves. The highest level of Pb generally inhibited the uptake of all mineral elements compared with the low-level Pb treatment. The results of this experiment show the phytotoxicity of increasing Pb, which is apparent from the reduction of chlorophyll concentration in eggplant. In addition, a negative effect was determined by Pb concentration on stomatal parameters of stomata density, stomata length-width, and stomatal index in this study.

Laboratory batch and greenhouse pot experiments were conducted to determine the extraction efficiency of ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) for solubilizing lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) and to explore the natural and chemically induced Pb and Cd phytoextraction efficiencies of spinach and mustard after EDTA application. The EDTA was applied at 0, 1.25, 2.5, and 5.0 mM kg −1 soil in three replicates. Addition of EDTA increased significantly the soluble fraction Pb and Cd over the control and maximum increases for Pb (1.42-and 1.96-fold) and Cd (1.45-and 1.38-fold) were observed with the addition of 5.0 mM EDTA kg −1 in Gujranwala and Pacca soils, respectively. Similarly, addition of EDTA increased significantly the Pb and Cd concentrations in the plant shoots, soil solution, bioconcentration factor, and phytoextraction rate. Mustard exhibited better results than spinach when extracting Pb and Cd from both contaminated soils.

Plant and Soil, 2011

A pot experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of the rock phosphate application on accumulation and translocation of heavy metals from the soil to the roots, shoots and fruits of eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) grown in a sewage sludge amended soil contaminated with Cd, Pb and Ni were 30, 30 and 60 mgkg-1 , respectively. The obtained results demonstrated that the sewage sludge application caused a significance accumulation of metals in the fruits of eggplant. The concentrations of these metals in the fruits were in the order of: Pb > Cd > Ni. The fruits of eggplant were not safe for the human consumption, because the levels of heavy metals exceeded the permissible limits. These, heavy metals in different parts of eggplant can be ranked in the order of: roots > shoots > fruits, were (mgkg-1). The soil-plant transfer factor (TF) showed that the order of uptake of metals by eggplant was: Cd > Ni > Pb. This calls for concern especially in the case of Pb and Cd which are highly toxic and of no known biological use. Therefore, Eggplant should not be cultivated in the farms and fields which use sewage sludge contaminated with heavy metals as an amendment.

This study attempts to investigate the phytochemical composition, bioconcentration and transfer factors of some selected edible vegetable consumed in Owerri metropolis (Imo State) Nigeria. The concentration of metals in different soils analyzed ranged from 1.65 ± 0.02 to 4.90 ± 0.03 mg/Kg Ni; 67.26 ± 0.74 to 137.87 ± 0.10 mg/Kg Zn; 3.11 ± 0.02 to 13.91 ± 0.02 mg/Kg Pb; 55.32 ± 0.32 to 85.68 ± 0.04 mg/Kg Cu; 2.73 ± 0.03 to 5.80 ± 0.10 mg/Kg Cd and 0.08 ± 0.01 to 0.18 ± 0.01 mg/Kg As. Geo-accumulation index used to established the extent of metal accumulation of the sample stations indicates contamination by cadmium. The levels of metals (Ni, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, As) in the various leafy vegetables were within the recommended limits except for lead which was higher than recommended limits, with minimum and maximum values of 2.35 ± 0.18 mg/Kg and 3.03 ± 0.88 mg/Kg respectively. Results revealed that the vegetables investigated were good accumulator of lead, copper and arsenic with significantly high transfer factors which ranged from 0.136 (Ocimum gratissmum) to 0.679 (Solanum macrocarpon), 0.06 (Corchorus Olitorius) to 0.257 (Ocimum gratissmum) and 0.056 (Solanum macrocarpon) to 0.625 (Corchorus Olitorius) respectively. Flavonoid, alkanoid, tannin, saponin and steroid were the phytochemicals detected in the various leafy vegetables investigated, and their concentration ranges from 0.09 -1.43 g/100g, 0.83 -1.06 g/100g, 0.11 -0.14 g/100g, 0.97 -1.40 g/100g and 0.06 -0.11 g/100g respectively.

Water, Air, & Soil Pollution

The presence of heavy metals in food is a threat to human health. Exposure to heavy metals as a result of consumption of contaminated vegetables, as well as their toxicity, is a serious problem. Different branches of industry and the road traffic have a significant impact on environmental pollution with heavy metals. Municipal and industrial sewage also is an important source of those substances. Furthermore, the mineral content of vegetables depends on factors such as the natural content of trace elements in the environment, their levels in mineral fertilizers, and fertilizer doses. In the soil, a natural source of these metals is bedrock. In soils used for agricultural purposes, some quantities of metals are introduced together with fertilizers, both organic and mineral. Additionally, another sources of the metals are plant protection products. Heavy metal dynamics in the soil and their uptake by plants are influenced by soil properties, which play a key role in the bioavailability of these metals. Metal mobility and assimilation are also influenced by the addition of organic and inorganic matter. A significant body of evidence also suggest that the age of the soil plays an important role in modulation of metal bioavailability to plants. Apart from being influenced by the soil-related factors, absorption of metals differs in different types of plants. A significant variation in metal concentrations was also found depending on their location in plant tissues, on plant species, or even on varieties of the same species.

Advances in Selected Plant Physiology Aspects, 2012

A pot experiment was conducted in the net house to study the effect of heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb) enriched sewage sludge on phytoextraction of heavy metals by marigold (tagetes sp.). The growth parameters like plant height and dry matter yield of crop was recorded. The dried plant sample was used for analyzing heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, and Pb) following the standard methods. Application of sewage sludge had significant effect on Cd, Cr, Ni and P b content in marigold crop. The uptake of Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb in marigold also increased with application of sewage sludge. The maximum value recorded in marigold was 0.27, 0.047, 0.49 and 0.116 mg pot-1 for Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb, respectively. Application of sewage sludge in soil provides essential nutrients for plant growth and it reduces environmental and economic considerations that limit disposal in landfills or incineration

JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL CHEMISTRY AND ENVIRONMENT, 2019

The effect of anthropogenic activity relating to industrial and economic development has had a detrimental impact on the environment and human health, and hence the need for continued research. Five common African vegetables-Murraya koenigii, Ocimum gratissimum, Amaranthus hybridus, Capsicum annuum and Moringa oleifera were used to study absorption of Lead, Cadmium, Cobalt and Zinc from soils inoculated with metal ions. 0.1 M and 0.5 M solutions of the metal ions were used in the inoculation. Each of the plants was collected in the first instance at 8 weeks, and then at 10 weeks of inoculating. Atomic Absorption spectrophotometer was used to determine the metal ions concentrations absorbed in the plants. Cd 2+ was most and Mo-ringa oleifera the least absorbed of the four metal ions, with a highest value of 34.801 ± 0.805 mg/kg occurring in Capsicum annuum. Co 2+ was the least absorbed of the four metal ions, Amaranthus hybridus showed highest absorption of Co 2+ with mean absorption values of 5.566 ± 0.324 mg/kg and 5.670 ± 0.210 mg/kg for 0.1 M and 0.5 M solution of Co 2+ respectively. Ocimum gra-tissimum absorbed Pb 2+ most with the highest mean absorption of 5.290 ± 0.180 mg/kg and 6.354 ± 0.366 mg/kg for 0.1 M and 0.5 M respectively. Absorption increased as the concentration of the inoculant solution increased for all the plants, and decreased on moving from 8 weeks' to 10 weeks' for all the plants except Moringa oleifera. This could as a result of Phytovolatiliza-tion against the report of Padmavathiamma and Li, 2007 [1] that phytovolati-lization occurs in As, Hg and Se. Ocimum gratissimum showed highest absorption with the mean value of 9.334 ± 0.312 mg/kg, when the inoculants concentration increased to 0.5 M, Capsicum annuum showed highest absorption with mean absorption value of 9.916 ± 0.614 mg/kg at 10 th week. Also absorption increased as the concentration of the inoculant solution increased, and also on moving from 8 weeks' to 10 weeks' for all the plants. From the results obtained, all the vegetables absorbed significant amounts of the metal ions. This raises a lot of health concern about the vegetables consumed in