title: Arsenic accumulation in native plants of West Bengal, India: prospects for phytoremediation but concerns with the use of medicinal plants.
abstract: Arsenic (As) is a widespread environmental and food chain contaminant and class I, non-threshold carcinogen. Plants accumulate As due to ionic mimicry that is of importance as a measure of phytoremediation but of concern due to the use of plants in alternative medicine. The present study investigated As accumulation in native plants including some medicinal plants, from three districts [Chinsurah (Hoogly), Porbosthali (Bardhman), and Birnagar (Nadia)] of West Bengal, India, having a history of As pollution. A site-specific response was observed for Specific Arsenic Uptake (SAU; mg kg(-1) dw) in total number of 13 (8 aquatic and 5 terrestrial) collected plants. SAU was higher in aquatic plants (5-60 mg kg(-1) dw) than in terrestrial species (4-19 mg kg(-1) dw). The level of As was lower in medicinal plants (MPs) than in non-medicinal plants, however it was still beyond the WHO permissible limit (1 mg kg(-1) dw). The concentration of other elements (Cu, Zn, Se, and Pb) was found to be within prescribed limits in medicinal plants (MP). Among the aquatic plants, Marsilea showed the highest SAU (avg. 45 mg kg(-1) dw), however, transfer factor (TF) of As was the maximum in Centella asiatica (MP, avg. 1). Among the terrestrial plants, the maximum SAU and TF were demonstrated by Alternanthera ficoidea (avg. 15) and Phyllanthus amarus (MP, avg. 1.27), respectively. In conclusion, the direct use of MP or their by products for humans should not be practiced without proper regulation. In other way, one fern species (Marsilea) and some aquatic plants (Eichhornia crassipes and Cyperus difformis) might be suitable candidates for As phytoremediation of paddy fields.
authors.affiliation: National Botanical Research Institute, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Lucknow, 226 001, UP, India.
authors.forename: Preeti
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tripathi
authors.forename: Sanjay
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Dwivedi
authors.forename: Aradhana
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Mishra
authors.forename: Amit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: Richa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dave
authors.forename: Sudhakar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: Mridul Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Shukla
authors.forename: Pankaj Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Srivastava
authors.forename: Debasis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chakrabarty
authors.forename: Prabodh Kumar
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Trivedi
authors.forename: Rudra Deo
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Tripathi
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D001673:Biodegradation, Environmental; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007194:India; D010944:Plants / Q000378:metabolism*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D012989:Soil Pollutants; D001151:Arsenic