Review of Edible Plants in Dumpsites: Risks of Heavy Metals Toxicity and Implications for Public Health
Journal Title: Journal of Experimental Agriculture International - Year 2017, Vol 17, Issue 6
Abstract
Studies of dumpsites have revealed that the surrounding soils and water are contaminated with high threshold of heavy metals through anthropogenic inputs. In this review, the uptake and toxicity risks of these heavy metals by habitual edible plants at levels above threshold limit and the implications for public health have been discussed. Edible plants are plants with nutritional and medicinal potentials which can salvage numerous human and animal needs when taken. Edible plants like most other underutilized plants in dumpsites have developed mechanisms which enable them to not only survive but accumulate high level of toxic heavy metals due to high level of environmental metal load in the dumpsites. This ultimately could lead to high human and animal exposure to these toxic elements through food-chain/food-web or direct ingestion of soils. The toxic effects caused by excess concentrations of these heavy metals in living organisms vary considerably and present numerous clinical situations ranging from neurological disorder, cellular damage among others and death in extreme cases. This review suggest the urgent need for policy makers to regulate the use of dumpsites for arable farming and the dependence on edible plants in dumpsites to avert heavy metal poisoning in populations.
Authors and Affiliations
Nwogo Ajuka Obasi, Stella Eberechukwu Obasi, Getrude Obianuju Aloh, Sunday Oge Elom
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP315371
- DOI 10.9734/JEAI/2017/35741
- Views 108
- Downloads 0
Agro-morphological Diversity of Six Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) Breeding Lines from Three Geographical Areas
Aims: To improve peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) performance, morphological traits of agronomic importance were assessed for genetic diversity of six breeding lines. These lines are from different geographical origins Burki...
Genetic Diversity Analysis of Ethiopian Coriander (Coriandrum sativum L.) Genotypes for Seed Yield and Oil Content
Genetic diversity is highly significant for the improvement of many crop species including coriander. Eighty one Ethiopian coriander genotypes were evaluated in 9x9 simple lattice design with two replication for genetic...
Changes of Photosynthetic and Antioxidant Activity of Phaseolus vulgaris to Potassium
Greenhouse experiment was conducted with two cultivars of common beans and four concentrations of potassium (1, 2, 10 and 20 millimolar –mM ) were supplied to the soil pots aiming to access variations in plant antioxidan...
Metamitron and Different Plant Growth Regulators Combinations in the Chemical Thinning of ‘Eva’ Apple Trees
Aims: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the application of Metamitron and the combinations of NAA + BA and Promalin + BA on the fruit thinning of the Eva cultivar apple tree in southern Brazil. St...
Evaluation of Sustainable Production Practices for Asian Vegetables (Luffa and Bitter Gourd) and their Mineral Nutrient Analysis in a Piedmont Soil of North Carolina
Aims: To reduce the inorganic fertilizers used to grow Asian vegetables (Luffa and Bitter gourds) by incorporating cover crops without compromising yield in piedmont soils of North Carolina Study Design: A split-split pl...