Bioaccumulation Pattern of Mercury in Bacopa monnieri (L.) Pennell
2012
Hussain K | Nabeesa Salim
Bioaccumulation pattern of mercury was studied in Bacopa monnieri plants cultivated in Hoagland nutrient medium artificially contaminated with 5 and 10μM HgCl2. Mercury content of roots, stem and leaves were analysed using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). During a period 12 days of growth, more accumulation was noticed in roots followed by stem and leaves. Repeated addition of HgCl2 and enhanced growth period up to 50 days showed only negligible increase in accumulation maintaining a threshold level of mercury in the root. When a comparison was done between the quantities of HgCl2 added to the growth medium and the sum of total accumulation of the plant and content present in the residual medium, a significant quantity of mercury is found to be lost presumably through the process of phytovolatilization from the plant. Studies on the effect of pH on bioaccumulation of mercury showed that acidic pH enhanced accumulation rate and hence for phytoremediation technology ‘chlorination’ is recommended whereas for medicinal purpose, Bacopa monnieri plants can be harvested after ‘liming’ to increase the pH and thereby reducing accumulation rate of mercury.
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