Phytofiltration mechanism of arsenic from drinking water using Micranthemum umbrosum

摘要

Phytofiltration is an emerging eco-friend technology to remediate pollutants from waters and soils. Arsenic (As) is one of the most noxious and carcinogenic contaminant, causing severe pollution in water followed by developing different kinds of diseases in human beings like dermatological disorders, cancer, etc. Previous studies showed that Micranthemum umbrosum plant is capable to remove 79.3-89.5% As from 0.2-1 μg As mL~(-1) solution. After Sephadex G-50 gel filtration of the soluble fractions of leaf of the plant grown in As contaminated water, fractions of As and- SH contents were determined. The results indicated that low molecular weight substances having thiol groups may berelated to the detoxification of As within the plant body. This research demonstrates that M. umbrosum has high potentiality as phytofiltrator for As. This As phytofiltration or detoxification procedure increases the scope of phytoremediation research for environmental contaminants.