Mohamed Fadlalla, A; Heng, L; Wickneswari, R; Jamili, N; Remi, R
A study on the effects of copper-mining waste discharge on several tropical medicinal plants was carried out. The levels of arsenic and some heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Ni, Fe, Mn and Co) were determined in soil samples and the medicinal herb species Curculigo latifolia, Selaginella plana, and Clidemia hirta found along the Mamut riverbank that received effluent and runoff from a copper-mine upstream. The metal concentrations were compared to those of soils and same plant species collected from a nearby river (Kipungit River), which was not affected by the mine discharge. Soil samples from Mamut riverbank showed significantly higher levels of extractable Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, and Zn than those from Kipungit riverbank (P<0.05). Because of the contaminated soil near Mamut River, C. latifolia from there demonstrated higher metal levels of Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Zn, when compared to the same plant species from Kipungit riverbank (P<0.05). However, no obvious contamination by As and metals was observed for the herb species Selaginella plana, and Clidemia hirta. Cd was the only metal that was accumulated by all medicinal plants studied with enrichment coefficients between 1.1-4.0. However, it was not possible to establish whether the elevated levels of metals found in C. latifolia were the results of metal bioaccumulation from the Mamut soils.
arsenic; cadmium; chromium; cobalt; copper; heavy metals; iron; lead; manganese; medicinal plants; mine spoil; nickel; polluted soils; soil pollution; zinc; Malaysia; Sabah; Clidemia hirta; Curculigo; Lycopsida; South East Asia; Asia; Developing Countries; Threshold Countries; ASEAN Countries; Commonwealth of Nations; Borneo; Clidemia; Melastomataceae; Myrtales; dicotyledons; angiosperms; Spermatophyta; plants; eukaryotes; Hypoxidaceae; Liliaceae; Liliales; monocotyledons; Pteridophyta; Curculigo latifolia; drug plants; medicinal herbs; mine wastes; mining spoil; mining wastes; Mn; officinal plants; Selaginella plana; Horticultural Crops (FF003) (New March 2000); Plant Toxicology (FF800); Soil Chemistry and Mineralogy (JJ200); Pollution and Degradation (PP600); Industrial Wastes and Effluents (XX400)