Sains Malaysiana 44(4)(2015): 503–509

Evaluation of the Phytoremediation Potential of Two Medicinal Plants

(Penilaian Potensi Fitoremediasi bagi Dua Tumbuhan Ubatan)

FAZILAH ABD MANAN¹*,TSUN-THAI CHAI², AZMAN ABD SAMAD³ & DAYANGKU DALILAH MAMAT³

¹Department of Biosciences and Health Sciences, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

²Department of Chemical Science, Faculty of Science, Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman

31900 Kampar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia

³Department of Biotechnology and Medical Engineering, Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Takzim

Malaysia

⁴Faculty of Biosciences and Medical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

81310 Johor Bahru, Johor Darul Takzim, Malaysia

Received: 25 June 2014/Accepted: 7 November 2014

ABSTRACT

Heavy metal pollution leads to human health problems and represents a constant threat to the environment. Pollutant clean-up using conventional methods are often hampered by high cost and ineffective pollutant removal. Phytoremediation technique is a preferable alternative due to its minimal side effects to the environment in addition to reasonable treatment cost. In this study, we investigated the potential of Centella asiatica and Orthosiphon stamineus as phytoremediation agents. Both species were grown in contaminated soil obtained from industrial land. Plant growth response and their ability to accumulate and translocate zinc, copper and lead were assessed. From this study, root growth of C. asiatica was compromised when grown in contaminated soil. Copper was highly accumulated in C. asiatica roots while the leaves were more concentrated with zinc and lead. Conversely, all three tested metals were highly detected in the roots of O. stamineus, although the root elongation was not adversely affected. Low amount of metals in the stems of both species permits longer stem length. Correlation study showed that the accumulation of zinc, copper and lead in plant tissues varies depending on plant species and the type of metals. Based on the bioaccumulation, translocation and enrichment factor, our study showed that C. asiatica was tolerant towards zinc, copper and lead; hence suitable for phytoextraction. By contrast, O. stamineus acted as a moderate accumulator of the tested metal elements.

Keywords: Centella asiatica; heavy metals; Orthosiphon stamineus; phytoremediation

ABSTRAK

Pencemaran logam berat membawa kepada masalah kesihatan manusia dan menjadi ancaman berterusan kepada alam sekitar. Pembersihan menggunakan kaedah konvensional sering terjejas oleh kos yang tinggi sedangkan penyingkiran pencemar tidak efektif. Sebagai alternatif, teknik fitoremediasi menjadi pilihan utama disebabkan oleh kesan sampingan minimum terhadap alam sekitar dengan kos rawatan yang munasabah. Dalam kajian ini, kami mengkaji potensi Centella asiatica dan Orthosiphon stamineus sebagai agen fitoremediasi. Kedua-dua spesies ditumbuhkan menggunakan tanah tercemar dari kawasan perindustrian. Tindak balas pertumbuhan, kebolehan mengumpul dan mentranslokasi zink, kuprum dan plumbum dinilai. Daripada kajian ini, pertumbuhan akar C. asiatica dikompromi apabila tumbuh pada tanah tercemar. Kuprum terkumpul pada akar C. asiatica manakala daunnya mengandungi lebih banyak zink dan plumbum. Sebaliknya, semua logam yang dikaji dikesan dengan sangat tinggi di dalam akar O. stamineus, walaupun pertumbuhan akar tidak terjejas. Jumlah logam yang rendah pada batang kedua-dua spesies membolehkan ia tumbuh lebih panjang. Analisis korelasi menunjukkan pengumpulan zink, kuprum dan plumbum dalam tisu tumbuhan adalah berbeza mengikut spesies dan jenis logam. Berdasarkan faktor bio-akumulasi, faktor translokasi dan faktor pengkayaan, kajian kami menunjukkan bahawa C. asiatica adalah toleran terhadap zink, kuprum dan plumbum, maka ia sesuai untuk fito-ekastraksi. Walau bagaimanapun, O. stamineus bertindak sebagai pengumpul sederhana bagi logam yang dikaji.

Kata kunci: Centella asiatica; fitoremediasi; logam berat; Orthosiphon stamineus

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*Corresponding author; email: fazilah@fbb.utm.my