Phytoremediation potential of some medicinal plants under metal stress and their biomass utilization

Heavy metal pollution has become one of the most important environmental problems of the age. These metals, which spread from different sources to the air, soil and water; They can affect nature and therefore living things by showing toxic effects above the limit values.With the increase in the use of medicinal plants in recent years, studies in all aspects are accelerating. These plants, which have been used for therapeutic purposes for many years, can be affected by the pollution in their living environment and keep this pollution in their body or include them in different metabolic events.Such a study was needed due to resource constraints on the phytoremediation potential of medicinal plants (drugs) used for treatment.Within the scope of the study, Nigella damascena (Damascus black cumin) and Melissa officinalis (Melissa) medicinal plant species, which spread naturally in the Marmara Region, were selected and their elemental content was determined by measurements collected from nature.To reduce the effects of pollutants used in production activities and to improve plant defense mechanism, Rhizophagus intraradices (fungus + plant symbiotic association) mycorrhiza species was added to the study.The experimental group was established as two sets with and without mycorrhiza, and each set was divided into three groups as control, Zn and Cd. After the seed germination, mycorrhiza appliCation was made and at the end of the infection period, 60µM CdSO4 and 700 µM ZnSO4 7H2O concentrations determined according to the field measurement results were applied to the experimental pots.During the experiment, morphologiCal measurements and post-harvest ecophysiological measurements and elemental analyzes (ICP-OES) were performed. The toxic effect of Cd metal was found to be higher than Zn metal in mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal groups, and mycorrhizal colonization occurred in the root zone in both plant species, but its metabolic effects were not observed significantly.It has been observed that mycorrhiza inhibits some element uptake by affecting the plant defense mechanism, and its effect increases slightly with Zn application. It has been revealed that heavy metals are concentrated in the root and stem regions with the effect of mycorrhizae