Phytoassay of sewage using aquatic macrophyte salvinia molesta (mitchell)

Anthropogenic activities have contributed huge quantities of industrial and domestic waste water which contains large quantities of xenobiotics that leads to undesirable changes in the physico-chemical environment. The aquatic plants have the potential to accumulate heavy metals, were tolerant and able to withstand on the pollution stress. They serve as a tool for the study phytoremediation of xenobiotics from the aquatic ecosystem. Phytoremediation is an emerging “Green Bioengineering Technology”. Bioengineering is a green, cheaper alternative that hardly cost civil engineering works for environmental reconstructions. The present investigation focuses on morphological and biochemical toxicity and accumulation profile of heavy metals in Salvinia molesta Mitchell to the various concentrations of sewage (25, 50, 75 and 100 %) at regular interval of 4 days. Salvinia showed visible symptoms like chlorosis, stunted growth and withering of roots at higher concentrations, however, the test plant shows luxurious growth at lower concentration (25%) of sewage. The estimation of biochemical parameters viz, total chlorophyll, protein and carbohydrate of test plants shows significant increase at lower concentrations but decreased with increased concentrations of sewage and exposure durations. The plant accumulation profile of heavy metals is directly proportional to sewage concentration and exposure duration. The accumulation potentiality in Salvinia was maximum at 4 days exposure irrespective of concentration. However, at remaining duration of exposure it remains marginal.