Bioconcentration of heavy metals in selected medicinal plants of India.

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 μg g-1) was 11.3 times that of the inland plants (0.006 μg g-1; p<0.05). The average concentration of lead in the mangrove plants (19.23 μg g-1) was 1.7 times that of the inland plants (11.38 μg 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.