Government College University Faisalabad

BACKGROUND:Wild plant species serve as significant models for evaluating the effects of anthropogenic activities on terrestrial ecosystems. In recent years, phytoremediation has garnered significant attention as a sustainable approach to remediate metal-contaminated soils, due to its ability to maintain soil structure while facilitating potential metal recovery. This study assessed the phytoremediation capabilities of seven indigenous wild plant species in soils impacted by phosphate mining operations. METHODS:Metal concentrations in soil and plant samples were measured by atomic spectroscopy. Ten biologically distinct rhizosphere soil samples were collected for each of the seven wild plant species; each biological replicate was made up of pooled material from five individual plants. The effectiveness of phytoremediation was evaluated by computing the Biological Accumulation Coefficient (BAC), Bioaccumulation Factor (BF), Element Accumulation Index (EAI), and Translocation Factor (TF) for selected trace metals. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION:Metal bioavailability was significantly associated with soil pH and organic matter content. The concentration of soil macronutrients was low. The bioconcentration factor exceeded one for most tested elements. Mn and Zn in Bidens pilosa and Conyza bonariensis were the sole exceptions. All metals except Mn had biological accumulation coefficients greater than 1. TF values suggested variable translocation potential among the studied plant species. CONCLUSION:The results indicate that the examined native plant species can tolerate elevated metal concentrations and sequester them, thereby endorsing their potential application in the remediation of phosphate-mining-affected metal-contaminated soils.

Soil salinity is a major nutritional challenge with poor agriculture production characterized by high sodium (Na+) ions in the soil. Zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) and biochar have received attention as a sustainable strategy to reduce biotic and abiotic stress. However, there is a lack of information regarding the incorporation of ZnO NPs with biochar to ameliorate the salinity stress (0, 50,100 mM). Therefore, the current study aimed to investigate the potentials of ZnO NPs application (priming and foliar) alone and with a combination of biochar on the growth and nutrient availability of spinach plants under salinity stress. Results demonstrated that salinity stress at a higher rate (100 mM) showed maximum growth retardation by inducing oxidative stress, resulted in reduced photosynthetic rate and nutrient availability. ZnO NPs (priming and foliar) alone enhanced growth, chlorophyll contents and gas exchange parameters by improving the antioxidant enzymes activity of spinach under salinity stress. While, a significant and more pronounced effect was observed at combined treatments of ZnO NPs with biochar amendment. More importantly, ZnO NPs foliar application with biochar significantly reduced the Na+ contents in root 57.69%, and leaves 61.27% of spinach as compared to the respective control. Furthermore, higher nutrient contents were also found at the combined treatment of ZnO NPs foliar application with biochar. Overall, ZnO NPs combined application with biochar proved to be an efficient and sustainable strategy to alleviate salinity stress and improve crop nutritional quality under salinity stress. We inferred that ZnO NPs foliar application with a combination of biochar is more effectual in improving crop nutritional status and salinity mitigation than priming treatments with a combination of biochar.

Humanity's main issues in improving life standards are water pollution and energy shortages. Nanotechnology has been proven to be a feasible field for solving these issues. In this regard, the green synthesis of the pristine ZnO NPs, NiO NPs, and ZnO-NiO nanocomposite (ZnO-NiO NCs) is reported here. The nanomaterials have been characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and UV-visible spectroscopy, powder X-ray diffraction (PXRD), zeta potential (ZP), dynamic light scattering (DLS), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HR-TEM), Energy-Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. Due to the better charge separation capability of heterojunction, ZnO-NiO NCs was evaluated for the optimiation of the photodegradation of Ciprofloxacin Hydrochloride (CF). The photodecomposition of the CF was optimized using statistical tool, i.e., Box-Behnken Design (RSM-BBD) based response surface methodology. The ZnO-NiO NCs showed maximum degradation of CF (92 %) with a rate constant of 2.2 x 10-2 min-1. Based on electrochemical and radical scavenging experiments, a formation of Z-scheme heterojunction has been proposed in the catalyst. The optimized ZnO-NiO NCs were also employed to catalyze the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by formic acid (FA) decomposition. The ZnO-NiO NCs showed excellent HER activity with a TOF value of 3171.9 h-1. The effect of parameters such as pH, temperature, solvent, and base on HER potential was studied, and the activation energy of the reaction was calculated. All these potential applications of ZnO-NiO NCs demonstrate their significance for water purification and overcoming the energy crisis.

This research investigated the effectiveness of natural herbal supplements in reducing the harmful effects of heavy metals (HMs) toxicity on Cyprinus carpio (6.53 ± 0.01 g/fish). This study investigated the possible protective effects of natural herbal supplements on the growth, body composition, haematology, digestibility, and liver histopathology of common carp against the mixture of HMs. In phase 1, fingerlings were exposed to a mixture of HMs such as 100 µg/L lead acetate trihydrate/Pb (C2H3O2)2·3H2O, 250 µg/L cadmium chloride anhydrous/CdCl2, 800 mg/L zinc sulfate heptahydrate/ZnSO4·7H2O, and 2.5 mg/L copper sulfate/CuSO4.5H2O), and in phase 2, seven groups were established such as control positive group (CON + ve, HM exposure + without any treatment), control negative group (CON-ve, without HM exposure), and five groups with 1

Hexavalent chromium (Cr (VI)) is a hazardous heavy metal that induces hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity. Thus, this study was planned to explore the ameliorating capacity of Aloe vera leaf gel extract (AV) and their conjugated silver nanoparticles (AVNP) against Cr (VI) induced hepatotoxicity and renal toxicity. The organ indices, level of alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, malondialdehyde, total protein, and creatinine in blood serum were measured. The histopathological and micrometric analysis of the hepatic and renal tissue sections were studied. The hepatosomatic index was raised significantly (0.098 ± 0.13 g) in Cr treated group. The blood serum level of AST (484 ± 10.7 U/L), ALT (163 ± 5.5 U/L), ALP (336.7 ± 9.5 U/L), MDA (642.3 ± 28.3 U/L), and creatinine (4.0 ± 0.1 mg/dL) were increased significantly, whereas total protein level was declined (2.8 ± 0.3 g/dL) significantly in Cr exposed group. In the histopathological study, necrosis, disturbed hepatic cords, impaired glomeruli, and Bowman’s capsule were noted. Micrometric data from the liver and kidney revealed a significant surge in the size of hepatocytes and their nuclei (1188.2 ± 467.7 µ2 and 456.5 ± 205.6 µ2) and CSA of glomeruli and Bowman’s capsule (9051.8 ± 249.8 µ2 and 11,835.5 ± 336.7 µ2) in Cr (VI) exposed group, whereas the brush border (10.2 ± 4.0 µ) size declined significantly. The administration of AV and AVNP reduced the oxidative stress induced by Cr (VI).