Threat of Copper, Zinc, Lead, and Cadmium in Alfalfa (Medicago scutellata) as Livestock Forage and Medicinal Plant

Authors
E. Solgi 1
M. Shahverdi Nick 2
M. Solgi 3
1 Assistant Professor, Department of Environment, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Malayer University, Malayer, Hamedan, Iran
2 Department of Environment, Faculty of Environment and Energy, Islamic Azad University, Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran
3 Assistant Professor, Department of Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Arak University, Arak, Iran
Abstract
Background: Concentrations of 4 toxic metals, viz. Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in the soil and alfalfa samples collected from Borujerd, Iran, was determined. The capability of alfalfa to accumulate heavy metals from soils was assessed in terms of Biological Concentration Factor.
Materials and Methods: The alfalfa and soil samples were collected from 20 different farms, including 13 wastewater-irrigated and seven underground-irrigated farms. After acid digestion, the samples were analyzed using atomic absorption spectrophotometer.
Results: The levels of Cd, Pb, and Zn in the soils of wastewater-irrigated farms were higher than those from the groundwater-irrigated farms. With the exception of Cu, concentrations of heavy metals in the alfalfa crop were higher in wastewater-irrigated farms compared to well water. Also, in the case of BCF, both Cd and Cu values decreased with increasing metal concentration in soil. The order of BCF of heavy metals in alfalfa was in order of Cu>Cd>Zn>Pb in well water-irrigated and Zn>Cd>Cu>Pb in wastewater –irrigated samples.
Discussion and Conclusions: The findings remarked that the levels of Cu, Cd, and Pb in alfalfa were exceeding the permissible levels suggested by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives. These outcomes propose that the consumption of alfalfa plants is potentially threatening both animal and human health.
Keywords
Alfalfa
BCF
Borujerd
Heavy metal (Cu Zn
Pb and Cd)
Medicinal plants
  1. Awodele O, Popoola T, Amadi KC, Coker HAB, Akintonwa A. Traditional medicinal plants in Nigeria-remedies or risks. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013; 150 (2013): 614-618.

  2. Rai V, Agnihotri AK, Khatoon S, Rawat AK, Mehrotra S. Chromium in some herbal drugs. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2005; 74: 464-469.

  3. Baye H, Hymete A. Lead and Cadmium Accumulation in Medicinal Plants Collected from Environmentally Different Sites. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2010; 84: 197-201.

  4. Filipiak-SzokA, Kurzawa M, Szłyk E. Determination of toxic metals by ICP-MS in Asiatic and European medicinal plants and dietary supplements. J Trace Elem Med Biol. 2015; 30(2015): 54-58.

  5. Shaban NS, Abdou KA, Hassan NEHY. Impact of toxic heavy metals and pesticide residues in herbal products. Beni-suef university journal of basic and applied sciences. 2016; 5: 102-106.

  6. Rao MM, Kumarmeena A, Galib. Detection of toxic heavy metals and pesticide residue in herbal plants which are commonly used in the herbal formulations. Environ Monit Assess. 2011; 181: 267-271.

  7. El-Rjoob AW, Massadeh AM, Omari MN. Evaluation of Pb, Cu, Zn, Cd, Ni and Fe levels in Rosmarinus officinalis labaia tae (Rosemary) medicinal plant and soils in selected zones in Jordan. Environ Monit Assess. 2008; 140: 61-68.

  8. Olowoyo JO, OkedeyiOO, Mkolo NM, Lion GN, Mdakane STR. Uptake, and translocation of heavy metals by medicinal plants growing around a waste dump site in Pretoria, South Africa. S Afr J Bot. 2012; 78: 116-121.

  9. Mahmood A, Rashid S, Naseem Malik R. Determination of toxic heavy metals in indigenous medicinal plants used in Rawalpindi and Islamabad cities, Pakistan. J Ethnopharmacol. 2013; 148: 158-164.

  10. Okem A, Southway C, Stirk WA, Street RA, Finnie JF, Van Staden J. Heavy metal contamination in South African medicinal plants: A cause for concern South African. Journal of Botany. 2014; 93: 125-130.

  11. Peng Y, Chenc R, Yang R. Analysis of heavy metals in Pseudostellariaheterophylla in Baiyi Country of Wudang District. J Geochem Explor. 2017; 176: 57-63.

  12. MeloLCA, AlleoniLRF, Swartjes FA. Derivation of critical soil cadmium concentrations for the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil, based on human health risks. Hum Ecol Risk Assess. 2011; 17: 1124-1141.

  13. Gupta N, Khan DK, Santra SC. An Assessment of Heavy Metal Contamination in Vegetables Grown in Wastewater-Irrigated Areas of Titagarh, West Bengal, India. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol. 2008; 80: 115-118.

  14. Balkhaira KS, Ashraf MA. Field accumulation risks of heavy metals in soil and vegetable crop irrigated with sewage water in western region of Saudi Arabia .Saudi J BiolSci Jan. 2016; 23(1): S32-S44.

  15. FAO/WHO. Contaminants.In Codex Alimentarius, vol. XVII, Edition 1.FAO/WHO, Codex Alimentarius Commision, Rome. 1984.

  16. Sekara A, Poniedzialek M, Ciura J, Jedrsezezyk E. Zinc and coper accumulation and distribution in the tissues of the nine crops: implication in phytoremediation. Pol J Environ Stud. 2005; 14 (6): 829-835.

  17. HajarEWI, SulaimanAZB, Mimi Sakinah A M. Assessment of Heavy Metals Tolerance in Leaves, Stems and Flowers of Stevia rebaudiana Plant. Procedia Environ Sci. 2014; 20: 386-393.

  18. Wang KS, Huang LC, Lee HS, Chen PY, Chang SH. Phytoextraction of cadmium by Ipomoea aquatica (water spinach) in hydroponic solution: effects of cadmium speciation. Chemosphere. 2008; 72: 666-672.

  19. Dai HP, Shan CJ, Jia GL, Yang TX, Wei AZ, Zhao H, Wu SQ, HuoKK, Chen WQ, Cao XY. Responses to Cadmium Tolerance, Accumulation and Translocation in Populus × canescens. Water Air Soil Pollut. 2013; 224: 1504.

  20. HassnapourDarvishi S, Kamajian M. Effects Cd accumulation abilities of annual alfalfa (Medicagoscutellata L.) by humic acid and growth promoting bacteria association. Iranian Journal of Plant Physiology. 2014; 5(1):1243-1247.

  21. Abusriwil AMH, Bayoumi Hamud HEAF, Elfoughi AA. Seed germination, growth and metal uptake of Medicago sativa l. grown in heavy metal contaminated clay loam brown forest soil. Tájökológiai Lapok 2011; 89(1): 111-125.

  22. Zaefarian F, Rezvani M, Rejali F, Ardakani MR, Noormohammadi G. Ability of Glomusmosseae-alfalfa (Medicago sativa L) association for heavy metal phytoextraction from soil. Environ Sci. 2010; 7(3): 75-90.

  23. Rogelio Carrillo G, Cajuste LJ. Heavy metals in soils and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) irrigated with three sources of wastewater.J Environ Sci Health A Environ Sci Eng Toxic. 1992; 27(7): 1771-1783.

  24. Ebrahim JE, Salih AA, Abahussain A. Effect of long-term irrigation using treated wastewater on heavy metal contents of soils grown to Medicago sativa in the Kingdom of Bahrain. International Journal of Advance Agricultural Research (IJAAR). 2016; 4: 20-29.

  25. Syam N, Wardiyati T, Maghfoer MD, Handayanto E, Ibrahim B, Muchdar A. Effect of Accumulator Plants on Growth and Nickel Accumulation of Soybean on Metal-Contaminated Soil. Agriculture and Agricultural Science Procedia. 2016; 9: 13-19.

  26. Sakizadeh1M, Ghorbani H. Selenium Bio-accumulation and Bio-concentration Factors in some Plant Species in an Arid Area in Central Part of Iran. ECOPERSIA. 2017; 5 (2): 1815-1827.

  27. Elouear Z, Bouhamed F, Boujelben N, Bouzid J. Application of sheep manure and potassium fertilizer to contaminated soil and its effect on zinc, cadmium and lead accumulation by alfalfa plants. Sustainable Environment Research. 2016; 26(3): 131-135.

  28. Rahmanian M, Habib K, Younes RD, Mir Hasan RS. Effects of heavy metal resistant soil microbes inoculation and soil Cd concentration on growth and metal uptake of millet, couch grass and alfalfa. African Journal of Microbiology Research. 2011; 5(4):403-410.

  29. Zhao FJ, Lombi E, McGrath SP. Assessing the potential for zinc and cadmium phytoremediation with the hyper accumulator Thlaspi caerulescens. Plant Soil. 2003; 249: 37-43.

  30. Wang XP, Shan XQ, Zhang SZ, Wen B. A model for evaluation of the phytoavailability of trace elements to vegetables under the field conditions. Chemosphere. 2004; 55: 811-822.

  31. Tiwari KK, Singh NK, Patel MP, Tiwari MR, Rai UN. Metal contamination of soil and translocation in vegetables growing under industrial wastewater irrigated agricultural field of Vadodara, Gujarat, India. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf. 2011; 74(6): 1670-1677.

ECOPERSIA
Volume 5, Issue 4 - Serial Number 22
December 2017
Pages 1981-1990