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Effects of metal-contaminated soils on the accumulation of heavy metals in gotu kola (Centella asiatica) and the potential health risks: a study in Peninsular Malaysia

DOI:10.1007/s10661-015-5042-0
Authors:
Wong Ling Shing at INTI International University
Wong Ling Shing
Hock Ghim Ong at INTI International University
Hock Ghim Ong
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Centella asiatica is a commonly used medicinal plant in Malaysia. As heavy metal accumulation in medicinal plants which are highly consumed by human is a serious issue, thus the assessment of heavy metals in C. asiatica is important for the safety of consumers. In this study, the heavy metal accumulation in C. asiatica and the potential health risks were investigated. Samples of C. asiatica and surface soils were collected from nine different sites around Peninsular Malaysia. The concentration of six heavy metals namely Cd, Cu, Ni, Fe, Pb and Zn were determined by air-acetylene flame atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). The degree of anthropogenic influence was assessed by calculating the enrichment factor (EF) and index of geoaccumulation (Igeo). The heavy metal uptake into the plant was estimated through the calculation of translocation factor (TF), bioconcentration factor (BCF) and correlation study. Estimated daily intakes (EDI) and target hazard quotients (THQ) were used to determine the potential health risk of consuming C. asiatica. The results showed that the overall surface soil was polluted by Cd, Cu and Pb, while the uptake of Zn and Ni by the plants was high. The value of EDI and THQ showed that the potential of Pb toxicity in C. asiatica was high as well. As heavy metal accumulation was confirmed in C. asiatica, daily consumption of the plant derived from polluted sites in Malaysia was not recommended.
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... Conventional methods for propagating C. asiatica involve stem cuttings or dividing rhizomes, but these techniques have limitations for cultivation on farms. The plant is difficult to propagate in large quantities, requires specific environmental conditions, and has also shown potential for accumulating heavy metals from the soil [11,12]. To overcome these limitations, alternative propagation methods such as tissue culture and micropropagation for fast mass production of high-quality plant material have recently attracted increased interest. ...
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... Based on the initial metal concentrations added to the microcosms, two different methods of metal concentration analysis were performed. FAAS (air/acetylene) was used for higher-level Cd and Zn determinations [30], and GFAAS was used when quantification was required below the FAAS detection limit (ca. 0.1 mg/L for both Cd and Zn), and for Hg (for which FAAS does not apply). ...
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... In general, the Cd ions tend to retain in the roots, and only a modest portion is actually translocated to shoots depending upon the plant types (Abe et al. 2008;Gill et al. 2011). The Cd distribution from belowground (roots) to aboveground (shoots/ leaves) plant parts is driven by means of plasma membrane transporters (especially diverse transporters like Fe) enabling xylem/phloem loading (Nakanishi et al. 2006;Ong et al. 2016;Ibrahim et al. 2017); further, it is an unaggressive method which is motivated by the process of plant transpiration. ...
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... Out of 20 comparisons in Table 6 for Pb Igeo, the present mean Pb I geo of all sampling sites of Peninsular Malaysia was higher in 13 comparisons but lower than those reported for Dabaoshan mine [67], Khatoon Iran [82], Hyderabad industrial area of India [61], habitat topsoils of Centella asiatica from Peninsular Malaysia [87], Seri Kembangan industrial area [84], mining area in Huize of China [85], and Bestari mine dump [17]. ...
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... There was no significant variation of the Cd and Pb concentrations in leaves among the study sites during both sampling seasons. However, the Cr concentration in the leaves of Centella asiatica collected from the nonorganic study sites were significantly higher than that of the organic study sites in both sampling seasons ( [26][27][28]. The roots are the major route of taking up water and nutrients into the plants. ...
Heavy metal concentrations in the edible portions of Centella asiatica: Health risk toward chronic kidney disease of uncertain etiology
Article
Full-text available
  • Jun 2021
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