Preliminary research on cadmium absorption and accumulation in ligusticum wallichii / 中国药学杂志

OBJECTIVE: To study preliminarily the cadmium absorption and accumulation in Ligusticum Wallichii to provide a scientific basis for solving the problem of cadmium excess. METHODS: The aboveground and underground parts of Ligusticum Wallichii in different growth periods and the rhizosphere soil were collected from Aoping Town, Pengzhou City and Yongshou Town, Meishan City. The cadmium content was determined, and the enrichment coefficient and transfer coefficient were calculated. RESULTS: The average cadmium content in the underground part was 77.21% higher than that in the aboveground part. The cadmium enrichment coefficients and cadmium transfer coefficients of different parts were both greater than 0.5, and the enrichment coefficient of the underground part was 64.75% higher than the aboveground part. CONCLUSION: Ligusticum Wallichii has a certain capacity to absorb and transfer cadmium, and most cadmium is enriched in the medicinal roots.

Accumulation of metals in selected macrophytes grown in mixture of drain water and tannery effluent and their phytoremediation potential.

Phytoremediation is an emerging, ecofriendly and economically feasible technique for the restoration of heavy metals contaminated environment. In the present investigation, five native macrophytes growing naturally in a drain receiving tannery effluent viz Bacopa monnieri, Eichhornia crassipes, Hydrilla verticillata, Ipomoea aquatica and Marsilea minuta were evaluated for their heavy metal (Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb) accumulation potential in field conditions at Unnao, U.P., India. The results showed that metal accumulation by these macrophytes differed among species and tissue parts. The concentration of Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb in the root tissues were estimated in the range 3.38 -45.59, 1.01 -16.85, 1.81-4.43 and 1.02 -4.24 µg g-1 d.wt., whereas the corresponding shoot values were 8.79 -48.81, 1.01-8.67, 0.84 -2.89 and 1.02 -2.84 for Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb respectively. Among the studied plants the translocation factor (TF) ranged between 1.07-2.60, 0.75-3.83, 1.44-2.57 and 0.49-3.76 for Cr, Cu, Ni and Pb, respectively. The highest metal TF was found in M. minuta (2.60, 3.83 and 2.57) for Cr, Cu and Ni respectively, whereas Pb was best translocated (3.76) by B. monnieri. Roots and shoots of the studied macrophytes showed a value of greater than 1 for metal enrichment coefficient. Findings suggest that E. crassipes can be used for phytoremediation of Cu and Ni whereas M. minuta and H. verticillata can be applied for the removal of Cr and Pb respectively from the contaminated water bodies.