The Phytochemical Analysis of Heavy Metals in Opuntia ficus carica, Agave americana and Yucca filamentosa

Özet

The increase in environmental pollution worldwide is causing adverse effects on living organisms, leading to their mortality. The impact of pollution on plants is among the most studied topics today because humans and animals depend on plants for nutrition. Our study focused on three species of cactus plants used in ornamental and landscape design (Opuntia ficus-indica, Agave americana, and Yucca filamentosa). This study is based on the existence of research indicating that the soils in which cacti grow exhibit phytoremediation capabilities. Phytoremediation is a technology that aims to remove heavy metals from air, water, and soil through the use of living plants (Pitagan et al, 2023). In this study, we aimed to determine the amount of heavy metals in Opuntia ficus-indica, Agave americana, and Yucca filamentosa, which are used as garden ornamental plants within the Harran University campus. For this purpose, a sufficient number of green leaves (five samples from each species and from different locations) were collected and analyzed for heavy metals such as Fe, Al, Mn, Cu, Ni, and Pb with an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry device (ICP-OES). Our analyses showed that the plants had high uptake of lead and zinc from the soil they were grown in. On the other hand iron and manganese were found in high amounts in the soil (ranging from 15900 mg/kg to 22190 mg/kg for iron, and from 747.9 mg/kg to 9163 mg/kg for manganese). However, in the leaves of all three plant species, the levels of these two elements were within normal ranges (around 40 mg/kg).