Journal of Environmental Biology

Bioconcentration of heavy metals in selected medicinal plants of India

G. Agoramoorthy¹, F.A. Chen¹, V. Venkatesalu² and P.C. Shea*¹

¹Department of Pharmacy, Tajen University, Yanpu, Pingtung-907, Taiwan

²Department of Botany, Annamalai University, Annamalainagar - 608 002, India

(Received: September 20, 2007; Revised received: November 20, 2007; Accepted: February 05, 2008)

Abstract: This paper presents data on the bioconcentration of heavy metals found in 10 plant species that occur in mangroves and inland ecosystems of India. The average concentration of mercury in the mangrove plants (0.068 mg g^-1) was 11.3 times that of the inland plants (0.006 mg g^-1; p<0.05). The average concentration of lead in the mangrove plants (19.23 mg g^-1) was 1.7 times that of the inland plants (11.38 mg g^-1; p<0.05). The mean bioconcentration factors for lead in mangrove plants (2.40 ± 0.75) were higher than that the inland plants (1.42 ± 0.15). The factor analysis accounted for 21.55% of the total variance showed accumulation of mercury and lead confirming the polluted nature.

Key words: Mangroves, Medicinal plant, Heavy metal, Pollution, Environment, India

PDF of full length paper is available with author (*pochuenshea@gmail.com)

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