Which chemical constituent in water lilly purifies water?
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Stroud, Jacqueline L; Collins, Richard N
2014-07-15
Anthropogenically disturbed coastal acid sulfate soils along the east coast of Australia, and worldwide, periodically result in the discharge of acid waters containing high concentrations of metals. Identifying priority sites (hotspots) within a catchment for acid sulfate soil remediation activities typically involves long-term monitoring of drainwater chemistry, including the capture of data on unpredictable rain-induced groundwater discharge events. To improve upon this monitoring approach, this study investigated using the water lily (Nymphaea capensis) as a biomonitor of drainage waters to identify hotspots in three acid sulfate soil impacted catchments (83 km(2)) in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia. In one catchment where the location of hotspots was known, water lily lamina concentrations of a suite of metal(loid)s were significantly (p<0.05) higher than plants collected from an unpolluted 'reference' drainage channel, thus validating the concept of using this species as a biomonitor. A catchment-scale water lily sampling program undertaken in catchments with unidentified hotspots revealed within catchment variation of plant metal concentrations up to 70-fold. High resolution maps produced from these results, therefore, provided strong evidence for the location of potential hotspots which were confirmed with measurements of drainwater chemistry during rain-induced groundwater discharge events. Median catchment lily accumulation was ca. 160 mg Al kg(-1) and 1,300 mg Fe kg(-1), with hotspots containing up to 6- and 10-fold higher Al and Fe concentrations. These findings suggest that biomonitoring with N. capensis can be an important tool to rapidly identify priority sites for remediation in acid sulfate soil impacted landscapes. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
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Chemical Composition of Water Lily (Nymphaea lotus) Bulbs Citation
Article (PDF Available) · January 2017 with 3,786 Reads
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EZEONU CHUKWUMA STEPHEN
9.27FEDERAL UNIVERSITY WUKARI, TARABA STATE NIGERIA
Kayode Arowora
7.78Federal University Wukari
Chinedu Imo
7.6Federal University Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria.
Ambikya Attah Samuel
Abstract
Water lily (Nymphaea lotus) bulbs from Mankhanwa River in Ibi – Nigeria were quantified for their biochemical composition. Proximate composition, anti-nutritional factors, minerals, vitamins and phytochemical contents in the plant bulb were assayed using Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC) standard methods. Values were obtained in duplicate and results tabulated using mean ± standard deviation. The result of the proximate analysis shows the following composition: crude fat (5.07 ± 0.01%), crude fiber (13.30 ± 0.02), crude protein (21.66 ± 0.01), ash (8.34 ± 0.01), moisture (9.72 ± 0.00) and carbohydrate (41.92 ± 0.06%). The present research also revealed that Nymphaea lotus bulb contains some vital phytochemicals: phytate (3.68 ± 0.01 mg/100g), tannin (13.63 ± 0.01), saponins (4.89 ± 0.01) and lycopene (1.96 ± 0.01) and very rich in minerals: phosphorus (635.39 ± 0.01 mg/100g), potassium (742.89 ± 0.04), sodium (431.53 ± 0.01), zinc (8.16 ± 0.01) and magnesium (87.46 ± 0.01). Other minerals obtained in this research include: cadmium, lead and copper in trace quantity. Vitamin A (51.36 ± 0.02 mg/100g) and C (24.65 ± 0.02) were found in moderate quantities. Other vitamins obtained in trace amount include: B1, B2 and E. Anti-nutrients were found to also exist in trace quantities. Information from this biochemical quantification suggests that the bulb from this important aquatic plant can be incorporated as a good source of nutrients in food industries for flour production, pharmaceutical industries for drug production as well as in the cosmetic industries.