Assessment of heavy metal accumulation and its effect on phytochemical profiling in Jacobaea maritima (L.) Pelser & Meijden

Abstract

Modernization and industrialization have been of great importance in the recent past, yet there are a few disadvantages, including the release of harmful effluents into the environment. The medicinal plants that are found in these heavy metal-polluted soils can have positive and negative effects as well. In this study, the plant Jacobaea maritima (L.) Pelser & Meijden, an important medicinal plant in the field of homeopathy was subjected to 3 different heavy metals: cadmium, chromium and lead at a concentration range of 50 ppm to 250 ppm. The morphological parameters show a clear effect on the growth of the plant and its development, which includes the shoot length and root length reducing by more than 50 % and 25 % in the case of shoot and root respectively. Phytochemical analysis shows significant variation, including chlorophyll. The highest protein is seen in Cr 100 ppm (7.47 mg) and the lowest was found in Cd 250 ppm (0.38 mg). Proline, which is a stress-induced compound, was found to be highest in Pb 200 ppm (1.242 mg/mL) and least in Cr 50 ppm (0.368 mg/mL). The Total Phenolic Content (TPC) was seen to be highest in Cr 250 ppm (3.229 mg/g) and least in control (0.57 mg/g) and the Total Flavonoid Content (TFC) was found to be highest in Cd 100 ppm and least in control (0.04 mg/g) plant which includes root, shoot and leaf.