1Research Scholar, Department of Biochemistry and Forensic Science, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad, India
2Research Scholar, Zoology Department, Sir P. P. Institute of Science, M. K. Bhavnagar University, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India
Vehicular emissions and industrial exhausts harm the ecosystem and the vegetation along the roadside while also causing heavy metal contamination. Due to their capacity to absorb large amounts of heavy metals, untamed plants growing beside roadsides is able to assist reducing heavy metal pollution. Therefore, the current investigation inferred the potential of several species of plants growing beside roadways to absorb heavy metals. As heavy metals are hazardous to human beings, animals, as well as plants, considering the severity of toxicity of heavy metals tolerance limits, are suggested by Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB). In the present study, 9 heavy metals namely Lead (Pb), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Copper (Cu), Zink (Zn), Arsenic (As), Nickel (Ni), Iron (Fe), and Manganese (Mn) were determined in the three different species (Nerium oleander, Cascabella thevetia, and Lantana camara) of roadside plants from the urban (industrial and heavy traffic) areas of Ahmedabad city of the state of Gujarat, India. Energy dispersive x-ray fluorescence (ED-XRF) was used to perform the standard analysis. It is observed that Fe was detected in a higher amount in a small sample of the plants while the concentration of Pb is comparatively lower. Cu and Cr are more dominantly found in heavy-traffic areas. Phytotoxic effects may be produced in some plants due to high concentrations of toxic metals; these plants are often consumed by herbivores which causes toxic harm to the animals.
Heavy metals, Roadside plants, Pollution control, ED-XRF
