ABSTRACT
Experiments were carried out to study the ability of Amaranthus hybridus to accumulate heavy metals and active pharmaceutical ingredients (APis) from two pharmaceutical effluents samples (effluent P, containing Paracetamol and effluent Bcontaining Amoxicillin). The preliminary experiment was carried out in a screen house in completely randomized design (CRD), using sterilised soil and controlled irrigation with the effluents while distilled water was the control. The main experiment involved natural attenuation using unsterilized soil, poultry manure, compost made from the leaves of Delonix regia, access to natural sunlight, air and rainwater. This was carried out outdoors in randomized complete block design (RCBD). Results from analysis of the effluent samples showed they contained high concentrations of cadmium (3.002 ppm), zinc (3.11 ppm), iron (4.02 ppm) and Paracetamol (25.24 µg/ml) for effluent P and Cd (2.30 ppm), Zn (2.12 ppm), Fe (1.21 ppm) and Amoxicillin (60.82 µg/ml) for effluent B. The screen house experiment resulted in poorly developed seedlings of A. hybridus,in which treatment with effluent B showed the highest mean concentration of zinc (4.11±0.12 mg/kg) and of iron (5.20±0.11 mg/kg). Results from the main experiment showed that the polluted plants did not grow significantly less than the pollution-free plants. T (Soil + Poultry manure +effluent P) recorded
) |
the highest mean leaf area (68.98±2.15 cm2 , plant height (116.85±0.35 cm), stem girth (4.13±0.14 cm)
and root circumference (4.45±0.18 cm) at week 10. Also, T, (Soil + Poultry manure + effluent B) recorded the highest mean fresh weight of leaves (23.41±1.06 g), stem (27.01±0.95 g) and root (7.41±0.40 g) at week7. A. hybridus accumulated up to 5.53±0.12mg/kg of zinc in the leaves and
5.49±0.19 mg/kg in its roots while 7.47±0.13 mg/kg of iron was recorded in the leaves and 8.16±0.13 mg/kg in its root.Only a minute quantity of cadmium was recorded in the plant parts (0.0047±0.0002 mg/kg in the leaves).  The highest concentration of Paracetamol  (1.60±0.06 µg/ml) accumulated  in a plant part was recorded in the leaf of Ts  (Soil+ Compost + effluent P) while the highest concentration of Amoxicillin  (5.93±0.10  g/ml)  was recorded  in T,  stem (Soil + Poultry  manure + effluent  B). Therefore, A.  hybriduswas able to withstand pharmaceutical pollution effects better when it is exposed to a natural environment and these findings should suggest caution in the use of effluents in agricultural practices.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
A manufacturing industry is an entity involved in the manufacture and
processing of basic raw materials into more refined and specialized products, or one that adds value to products through series of processes (Akrani, 2011 ). The products that are generated during the processing which are not of further value to the manufacturer are called wastes. An industrial waste in liquid form is called an effluent; effluents are thus liquid wastes generated during processing. Idris et al. (2013) refers to effluent as waste discharged onto surface waters. Effluent is defined by Hossain et al. (2010) as wastewater treated or untreated that flows out of a treatment plant, sewer or industrial outfall.
Industrial wastewater effluents are usually highly variable, with variations both m quantity and quality, brought about by industrial routines like bath discharges, operation start-ups and shut-downs, working-hour distribution, etc. (Munter, 2006). In developing countries like Nigeria, many industries dispose their effluents without treatment. These industrial effluents have a hazardous effect on water quality, habitat quality, and have complex effects on flowing waters (Idris et al., 2013). Effluents from industries may still contain heavy metals and persistent organic contaminants even after treatment. The persistent organic contaminants accumulated in soil transfer to organisms through the food chains and cause adverse health effects on human or biological effects on soil fauna and flora after long-term application (Islam et al.,
2006). Presently, some 2.4 billion people lack adequate sanitation and 3.4 million die each year in the world from water related diseases (Idris et al., 2013).
1
1.1 Sources of industrial effluents
In most industries, wastewater effluents result from water uses such as sanitary wastewater, cooling, and processing wastewater. The most important water contaminants created by human activities are microbial pathogens, nutrients, oxygen• consuming materials, heavy metals and persistent organic matter, as well as suspended sediments and dyes (Hanchang, 2011). Generally in Nigeria, it is the common practice with industrial waste disposal that industries discharge untreated effluents into the nearest water bodies (Bichi, 2013). In Kano, many of the industries do not have wastewater treatment facilities and thus discharge their untreated effluents into adjoining receiving water bodies. In rural areas of Enugu, drainage channels are not a common feature and so wastewater is released onto run-off paths and erosion tracks through which they can travel into a water body. In urban areas where gutters and drainages are constructed, they are sometimes blocked due to dumping of refuse in the gutters and poor construction of the gutters by construction companies. For instance in Enugu industrial layout Emene, many of the manufacturing industries do not have properly constructed drainages to channel their wastewaters.
Many companies do not treat their effluents properly and often discharge them on the ground or in water bodies, and these discharges accumulate and cause water pollution, diseases and death of plants and animals through food chain (Idris et al.,
2013). High concentrations of metals from improperly disposed wastes exert a negative influence on the development of plants, their use of nutrients and metabolism (Shon et al., 2011). Sewage effluent irrigation contributes significantly to the heavy metal content of the irrigated soil leading to accumulation of metals in the grown
plants and further contamination of the food chain, thereby posing health risks to the organisms along the food chain (Cui et al., 2004). Pathogenic organisms also give rise to great health concerns in agricultural use of wastewaters. Pathogenic viruses, bacteria, protozoa and helminths may be present in raw municipal wastewater at medium to high levels and will survive in the environment for long periods (Shon et al., 2011).
The pharmaceutical industry produces chemical combatants that may lead to the elimination of pathogenic organisms and the disruption of their detrimental activities in human beings, plants and animals. However, these chemicals tend to linger in the environment and because of the trace amounts in which they are usually found, their effects are mostly neglected. Active pharmaceutical ingredients (APis) that are excreted or found in runoff from livestock manure that is spread on fields have the potential to pollute the soil, penetrate ground water from which the contamination is spread to linked water sources. The presence of antibiotics in aquatic environments is of particular concern because of fears that they may stimulate antibacterial resistance among native bacterial populations (Duff, 2007).
The pharmaceutical industry selected for effluent collection is located in Emene, Enugu State. It is involved in the production of antibiotics, anti-depressants, anti-amoebic, antifungal and diuretics. It has three on-site manufacturing plants. The first plant generates only particulate dust as waste which is collected and channelled through pipes, into an underground septic tank where it mixes with water. This particular waste is cleared out routinely by the State Waste Management Agency. The remaining two plants generate obtainable effluents which flow into separate channels
and they are involved in producing drugs like Amoxil, Ampiclox, Cotrim, Flagyl, Paracetamol and Tetracycline. It was observed in the case of this pharmaceutical company that the drainage channels they use became clogged up at some points, thereby causing the generated effluents to spill onto land and surrounding vegetation. Among the plants present in that vegetation were a number of Amaranths grown to maturity. This is perhaps one of the motives propelling this research.
1.2 Amaranthus hybridus Linn. Classification
Kingdom Division Class Order Family Genus
Species
Plantae Angiospermae Dicotyledonae Caryophyllales Amaranthaceae Amaranthus
A. hybridus (Farrukh et al., 2003).
(Common names: green amaranth or smooth amaranth).
Amaranthus hybridus L. is a cosmopolitan species In the family Amaranthaceae which in some parts of the world is classified as a weed, but in West Africa is cultivated for its edible leaves and cereal from the ground seeds (Farrukh et al., 2003). It is an annual crop, often growing to 0.7 m (Plate 1). The peak
of its vegetative season is April; flowering takes place from July to September, and
the seeds ripen from August to October. The flowers are monoecious (individual flowers are either male or female, but both sexes can be found on the same plant) and are pollinated by wind and by self (Farru kh et al., 2003 ).
Economic importance ofA. hybridus.
• It is cultivated as a food plant for green leafy vegetable, and for animal fodder in the tropics. It is a very good source of vitamins including vitamin A, B6, and C, and riboflavin.
• It is also a good source of dietary minerals including calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, copper, and manganese. Its seeds have been shown to contain protein (Atayese et al., 2009).
• Yellow and green dyes can be obtained from the whole plant and it is traditionally used for treatment of constipation, inflammation, eczema, bronchitis, anaemia, and leprosy (Atayese et al., 2009).
• The medicinal root juice is used to treat inflammation during urination. Some studies have shown that amaranth seeds or oil may benefit people with hypertension and cardiovascular disease; hence regular consumption reduces blood pressure and cholesterol levels (Atayese et al., 2009).
• No members of this genus are known to be poisonous, but when grown on nitrogen-rich soils they are known to concentrate nitrates in the leaves. This is especially noticeable on land where chemical fertilizers are used and it is not advisable, therefore, to eat this plant if it is grown inorganically (Atayese et al., 2009).
Amaranthus hybridus was labelled a suitable phytoremediant by Orwa (2014) because it was able to accumulate Cu, Zn and Cd. In a remediation experiment conducted at a polluted riverside, the metal concentration in the water samples (37.61 mg/L) were found to be low compared to that in the plants (43.01 mg/Kg). According to Orwa (2014), determination of heavy metal pollution in any water body by direct analysis of water samples may not be accurate because it will not reflect the real bio• available pollutant level in the water due to removal of heavy metals from polluted waters by green plants. This is because most of the heavy metals will be removed from the water by biota and sediment resident in the same water; hence the use of bio-indicators e.g. A. hybridus would be more accurate (Orwa, 2014). The visible anatomical changes seen in A. hybridus grown in crude oil contaminated soil could also be employed as an index of phytomonitoring crude oil pollution (Omosun et al., 2008).
Amaranthus hybridus has been used in phytoremediation studies on crude oil polluted sites (Odjegba and Sadiq, 2002; Omosun et al., 2008); on effluent polluted river banks (Orwa, 2014); and on heavy metal polluted roadside (Atayese et al.,
2009). Under field conditions, effects of crude oil on A. hybridus are likely to be short-term because the plants were seen to recover once residual oil was removed by rainfall (Omosun et al., 2008).
1.3 Aims and objectives of the study
• To assess the effects of pharmaceutical effluents on the germination, growth and development ofAmaranthus hybridus;
• To investigate the absorption and accumulation of heavy metals from the effluents by A. hybridus;
• To investigate the absorption and accumulation of active pharmaceutical ingredients from the effluents, and the manifestation of morphological variations; and
• To determine the potential of the use of compost and organic manure in natural attenuation and remediation of pharmaceutical effluent pollution.
This material content is developed to serve as a GUIDE for students to conduct academic research
GROWTH DEVELOPMENT AND HEAVY METAL UPTAKE BY AMARANTHUS HYBRIDUS L. POLLUTED WITH PHARMACEUTICAL EFFLUENTS>
PROJECTOPICS.com Support Team Are Always (24/7) Online To Help You With Your Project
Chat Us on WhatsApp » 07035244445
DO YOU NEED CLARIFICATION? CALL OUR HELP DESK:
07035244445 (Country Code: +234)YOU CAN REACH OUR SUPPORT TEAM VIA MAIL: [email protected]