Displaying publications 1 - 20 of 34 in total

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  1. Fulltext An inhibitive enzyme assay to detect mercury and zinc using protease from Coriandrum sativum
    Baskaran G, Masdor NA, Syed MA, Shukor MY
    ScientificWorldJournal, 2013;2013:678356.
    PMID: 24194687 DOI: 10.1155/2013/678356
    Heavy metals pollution has become a great threat to the world. Since instrumental methods are expensive and need skilled technician, a simple and fast method is needed to determine the presence of heavy metals in the environment. In this study, an inhibitive enzyme assay for heavy metals has been developed using crude proteases from Coriandrum sativum. In this assay, casein was used as a substrate and Coomassie dye was used to denote the completion of casein hydrolysis. In the absence of inhibitors, casein was hydrolysed and the solution became brown, while in the presence of metal ions such as Hg²⁺ and Zn²⁺, the hydrolysis of casein was inhibited and the solution remained blue. Both Hg²⁺ and Zn²⁺ exhibited one-phase binding curve with IC₅₀ values of 3.217 mg/L and 0.727 mg/L, respectively. The limits of detection (LOD) and limits of quantitation (LOQ) for Hg were 0.241 and 0.802 mg/L, respectively, while the LOD and LOQ for Zn were 0.228 and 0.761 mg/L, respectively. The enzyme exhibited broad pH ranges for activity. The crude proteases extracted from Coriandrum sativum showed good potential for the development of a rapid, sensitive, and economic inhibitive assay for the biomonitoring of Hg²⁺ and Zn²⁺ in the aquatic environments.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  2. An evaluation of direct measurement techniques for mercury dry deposition
    Lai SO, Huang J, Hopke PK, Holsen TM
    Sci Total Environ, 2011 Mar 1;409(7):1320-7.
    PMID: 21257194 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2010.12.032
    In this project, several surrogate surfaces designed to directly measure Hg dry deposition were investigated. Static water surrogate surfaces (SWSS) containing deionized (DI), acidified water, or salt solutions, and a knife-edge surrogate surface (KSS) using quartz fiber filters (QFF), KCl-coated QFF and gold-coated QFF were evaluated as a means to directly measure mercury (Hg) dry deposition. The SWSS was hypothesized to collect deposited elemental mercury (Hg⁰), reactive gaseous/oxidized mercury (RGM), and mercury associated with particulate matter (Hg(p)) while the QFF, KCl-coated QFF, and gold-coated QFF on the KSS were hypothesized to collect Hg(p), RGM+Hg(p), and Hg⁰+RGM+Hg(p), respectively. The Hg flux measured by the DI water was significantly smaller than that captured by the acidified water, probably because Hg⁰ was oxidized to Hg²+ which stabilized the deposited Hg and decreased mass transfer resistance. Acidified BrCl, which efficiently oxidizes Hg⁰, captured significantly more Hg than other solutions. However, of all collection media, gold-coated QFFs captured 6 to 100 times greater Hg mass than the other surfaces, probably because there is no surface resistance for Hg⁰ deposition to gold surfaces. In addition, the Hg⁰ concentration is usually 100-1000 times higher than RGM and Hg(p). For all other media, co-located samples were not significantly different, and the combination of daytime plus nighttime results were comparable to 24-h samples, implying that Hg⁰, RGM and Hg(p) were not released after they deposited nor did the surfaces reach equilibrium with the atmosphere. Based on measured Hg ambient air concentrations and fluxes, dry deposition velocities of RGM and Hg⁰ to DI water and other surfaces were 5.6±5.4 and 0.005-0.68 cm s⁻¹ in this study, respectively. These results suggest surrogate surfaces can be used to measure Hg dry deposition; however, extrapolating the results to natural surface can be challenging.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  3. Mercury in scalp hair of healthy Singapore residents
    Foo SC, Ngim CH, Phoon WO, Lee J
    Sci Total Environ, 1988 Jun 15;72:113-22.
    PMID: 3406725
    Two hundred and twenty-five hair samples (150 Chinese, 44 Malays and 31 Indians) from healthy residents not occupationally exposed to mercury were analyzed by cold vapour atomic absorption spectrophotometry to determine their total, inorganic and organic mercury levels. The arithmetic means of total mercury levels in hair were 6.1, 5.2 and 5.4 ppm for the Chinese, Malays and Indians, respectively. Factors contributing to the amount of mercury in hair, including consumption of fish and marine products, use of traditional ethnic medicines, artificial hair waving, age, sex and ethnicity were analyzed. Fish consumption, sex and ethnicity are factors found to contribute significantly (p less than 0.05) to mercury levels in hair.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  4. Optical test strip for trace Hg(II) based on doped sol-gel film
    Yusof NA, Kadir WA
    Spectrochim Acta A Mol Biomol Spectrosc, 2009 Feb;72(1):32-5.
    PMID: 19010723 DOI: 10.1016/j.saa.2008.07.019
    Optical test strip based on the use of Br-PADAP as a sensitive reagent immobilised into sol-gel thin film for detection of Hg(II) in aqueous solution had been thoroughly carried out. It has a square-sensing zone (1.0 cm x 1.0 cm) containing the sensitive reagent necessary to produce response to trace level of mercury. This method offer sensitivity and simplicity in detecting Hg(II) as no prior treatment or extraction is required. A linear response was attained in the Hg(II) concentration in the range of 0.5-2.5 ppm with calculated limit of detection of 6.63 ppb. This method also showed a reproducible result with relative standard deviation (R.S.D.) of 2.15% and response time of approximately 5 min. Interference studies showed that Al(III), Co(II) and Ni(II) significantly interfered during the determination. The developed sensor has been validated against Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy method and proven comparable.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  5. Mercury contamination in facial skin lightening creams and its health risks to user
    Ho YB, Abdullah NH, Hamsan H, Tan ESS
    Regul Toxicol Pharmacol, 2017 Aug;88:72-76.
    PMID: 28554823 DOI: 10.1016/j.yrtph.2017.05.018
    This study aims to determine concentrations of mercury in facial skin lightening cream according to different price categories (category I:
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  6. Smartphone Assisted Naked Eye Detection of Mercury (II) Ion using Horseradish Peroxidase Inhibitive Assays
    Jamadon NK, Busairi N, Syahir A
    Protein Pept Lett, 2018;25(1):90-95.
    PMID: 29237368 DOI: 10.2174/0929866525666171214111503
    BACKGROUND: Mercury (II) ion, Hg2+ is among the most common pollutants with the ability to affect the environment. The implications of their elevation in the environment are mainly due to the industrialization and urbanization process. Current methods of Hg2+ detection primarily depend on sophisticated and expensive instruments. Hence, an alternative and practical way of detecting Hg2+ ions is needed to go beyond these limitations. Here, we report a detection method that was developed using an inhibitive enzymatic reaction that can be monitored through a smartphone. Horseradish peroxidase (HRP) converted 4-aminoantipyrene (4-AAP) into a red colored product which visible with naked eye. A colorless product, on the other hand, was produced indicating the presence of Hg2+ that inhibit the reaction.

    OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study is to develop a colorimetric sensor to detect Hg2+ in water sources using HRP inhibitive assay. The system can be incorporated with a mobile app to make it practical for a prompt in-situ analysis.

    METHODS: HRP enzyme was pre-incubated with different concentration of Hg2+ at 37°C for 1 hour prior to the addition of chromogen. The mix of PBS buffer, 4-AAP and phenol which act as a chromogen was then added to the HRP enzyme and was incubated for 20 minutes. Alcohol was added to stop the enzymatic reaction, and the change of colour were observed and analyse using UV-Vis spectrophotometer at 520 nm wavelength. The results were then analysed using GraphPad PRISM 4 for a non-linear regression analysis, and using Mathematica (Wolfram) 10.0 software for a hierarchical cluster analysis. The samples from spectroscopy measurement were directly used for dynamic light scattering (DLS) evaluation to evaluate the changes in HRP size due to Hg2+ malfunctionation. Finally, molecular dynamic simulations comparing normal and malfunctioned HRP were carried out to investigate structural changes of the HRP using YASARA software.

    RESULTS: Naked eye detection and data from UV-Vis spectroscopy showed good selectivity of Hg2+ over other metal ions as a distinctive color of Hg2+ is observed at 0.5 ppm with the IC50 of 0.290 ppm. The mechanism of Hg2+ inhibition towards HRP was further validated using a dynamic light scattering (DLS) and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to ensure that there is a conformational change in HRP size due to the presence of Hg2+ ions. The naked eye detection can be quantitatively determined using a smartphone app namely ColorAssist, suggesting that the detection signal does not require expensive instruments to be quantified.

    CONCLUSION: A naked-eye colorimetric sensor for mercury ions detection was developed. The colour change due to the presence of Hg2+ can be easily distinguished using an app via a smartphone. Thus, without resorting to any expensive instruments that are mostly laboratory bound, Hg2+ can be easily detected at IC50 value of 0.29 ppm. This is a promising alternative and practical method to detect Hg2+ in the environment.

    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  7. Fulltext Application of polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layer for detection of mercury, lead and iron ions using surface plasmon resonance technique
    Sadrolhosseini AR, Noor AS, Bahrami A, Lim HN, Talib ZA, Mahdi MA
    PLoS One, 2014;9(4):e93962.
    PMID: 24733263 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0093962
    Polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layers were used to modify the gold layer to measure heavy metal ions using the surface plasmon resonance technique. The new sensor was fabricated to detect trace amounts of mercury (Hg), lead (Pb), and iron (Fe) ions. In the present research, the sensitivity of a polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotube composite layer and a polypyrrole layer were compared. The application of polypyrrole multi-walled carbon nanotubes enhanced the sensitivity and accuracy of the sensor for detecting ions in an aqueous solution due to the binding of mercury, lead, and iron ions to the sensing layer. The Hg ion bonded to the sensing layer more strongly than did the Pb and Fe ions. The limitation of the sensor was calculated to be about 0.1 ppm, which produced an angle shift in the region of 0.3° to 0.6°.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  8. Mercury concentration of four dominant species in the Bebar peat swampy forest river, Malaysia
    Kamaruzzaman BY, Ongand MC, Khali AH
    Pak J Biol Sci, 2007 Apr 01;10(7):1103-7.
    PMID: 19070059
    Muscle, stomach and gill from four dominant fish species, Mytus nemurus, Pristolepis fasciata, Ompok bimaculatus and Osteochilus hasseltii, caught from Bebar peat swamp forest river were analyzed for mercury (Hg). The concentration of Hg was measured with a fast and sensitive Flow Injector Mercury Spectrometer (FIMS). The average Hg concentration of all species caught was 0.169 microg g(-1) dry weights, lower than a limit for human consumption recommended by the World Health Organization, 0.5 microg g(-1) dry weights. The mean concentration of Hg was relatively high in stomach (0.28 +/- 0.12 microg g(-1) dry weights) followed by gill (0.17 +/- 0.06 microg g(-1) dry weights) and lowest in muscle (0.05 +/- 0.02 microg g(-1) dry weights). The positive relationship of Hg with fish length and weight suggesting that the accumulation of Hg were formed in the fish.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  9. Assessment of metallic trace elements in the muscles and fins of four landed elasmobranchs from Kuala Terengganu Waters, Malaysia
    Ong MC, Gan SL
    Mar Pollut Bull, 2017 Nov 30;124(2):1001-1005.
    PMID: 28807418 DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2017.08.019
    A study had been carried out to determine Cu, Zn, Cd, Hg and Pb concentrations in the muscle and fins of four elasmobranchs species namely spot-tail sharks, milk sharks, whitespotted bamboo sharks and whitespotted guitarfish from Pulau Kambing LKIM Fishery Complex, Kuala Terengganu, Malaysia. Zinc level was found to have the highest concentration whereas Cd had the lowest concentration in both organs. By comparing both organs, metals concentrations in fins of all elasmobranchs species were higher than muscle. Result obtained was compared with the guidelines set by Malaysian Food Regulation and the provisional tolerable weekly intake was also determined. Current study recommends that the muscle of whitespotted bamboo shark from Kuala Terengganu Waters is likely not to be consumed due to it exceeded the allowable consumption guideline. Finding of this paper is very useful as it provides the baseline data on the pollution status of elasmobranchs in Kuala Terengganu Waters.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  10. Distribution of mercury in sediments, plant and animal tissues in Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve, Malaysia
    Wolswijk G, Satyanarayana B, Dung LQ, Siau YF, Ali ANB, Saliu IS, et al.
    J Hazard Mater, 2020 04 05;387:121665.
    PMID: 31784131 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2019.121665
    Charcoal production activities at the Matang Mangrove Forest Reserve (MMFR) in Peninsular Malaysia have a potential to emit volatile compounds such as Hg back into the ambient environment, raising concerns on the public health and safety. The present study was aimed at analyzing Hg concentration from different plant/animal tissues and sediment samples (in total 786 samples) to understand clearly the Hg distribution at the MMFR. Leaves of Rhizophora spp. showed higher Hg concentration with an increasing trend from young, to mature, to senescent and decomposing stages, which was possibly due to accumulation of Hg over time. The low Hg concentration in Rhizophora roots and bark suggests a limited absorption from the sediments and a meagre accumulation/partitioning by the plant tissue, respectively. In the case of mangrove cockles the concentration of Hg was lower than the permissible limits for seafood consumption. Although the mangrove gastropod - Cassidula aurisfelis Bruguière had rather elevated Hg in the muscle tissue, it is still less than the environmental safely limit. Beside the chances of atmospheric deposition for Hg, the sediment samples were found to be unpolluted in nature, indicating that in general the MMFR is still safe in terms of Hg pollution.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  11. Evaluation of mercury contamination in Smilax myosotiflora herbal preparations
    Ang HH, Lee KL
    Int J Toxicol, 2007 Sep-Oct;26(5):433-9.
    PMID: 17963130 DOI: 10.1080/10915810701583036
    The DCA (Drug Control Authority) of Malaysia implemented phase 3 registration of traditional medicines in January 1992 with special emphasis on the quality, efficacy, and safety of all dosage forms of these medicines. For this reason, a total of 100 herbal products containing Smilax myosotiflora were purchased in the Malaysian market and analyzed for mercury content, as mercury is a recognized reproductive toxicant. The products were analyzed using cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometry. It was found that 89% of the above products do not exceed 0.5 ppm of mercury. Heavy metal poisoning such as mercury has been associated with traditional medicines. Therefore, it is important that doctors and health care practitioners are aware of these risks and finding ways to minimize them, including questions pertaining to the use of these remedies during the routine taking of a patient's history.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  12. Determination of mercury by cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometer in Tongkat Ali preparations obtained in Malaysia
    Ang HH, Lee EL, Cheang HS
    Int J Toxicol, 2004 Jan-Feb;23(1):65-71.
    PMID: 15162849 DOI: 10.1080/10915810490269654
    The DCA (Drug Control Authority), Malaysia, has implemented the phase 3 registration of traditional medicines on 1 January 1992, with special emphasis on the quality, efficacy, and safety (including the presence of heavy metals) in all pharmaceutical dosage forms of traditional medicine preparations. As such, a total of 100 products in various pharmaceutical dosage forms of a herbal preparation, containing Tongkat Ali, were analyzed for mercury content using cold vapor atomic absorption spectrophotometer. Results showed that 36% of the above products possessed 0.52 to 5.30 ppm of mercury and, therefore, do not comply with the quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia. Out of these 36 products, 5 products that possessed 1.05 to 4.41 ppm of mercury were in fact have already registered with the DCA, Malaysia. However, the rest of the products that contain 0.52 to 5.30 ppm of mercury still have not registered with the DCA, Malaysia. Although this study showed that only 64% of the products complied with the quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia pertaining to mercury, they cannot be assumed safe from mercury contamination because of batch-to-batch inconsistency.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  13. Fulltext Facile hydrothermal preparation of titanium dioxide decorated reduced graphene oxide nanocomposite
    Chang BY, Huang NM, An'amt MN, Marlinda AR, Norazriena Y, Muhamad MR, et al.
    Int J Nanomedicine, 2012;7:3379-87.
    PMID: 22848166 DOI: 10.2147/IJN.S28189
    A simple single-stage approach, based on the hydrothermal technique, has been introduced to synthesize reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanocomposites. The titanium dioxide nanoparticles are formed at the same time as the graphene oxide is reduced to graphene. The triethanolamine used in the process has two roles. It acts as a reducing agent for the graphene oxide as well as a capping agent, allowing the formation of titanium dioxide nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution (~20 nm). Transmission electron micrographs show that the nanoparticles are uniformly distributed on the reduced graphene oxide nanosheet. Thermogravimetric analysis shows the nanocomposites have an enhanced thermal stability over the original components. The potential applications for this technology were demonstrated by the use of a reduced graphene oxide/titanium dioxide nanocomposite-modified glassy carbon electrode, which enhanced the electrochemical performance compared to a conventional glassy carbon electrode when interacting with mercury(II) ions in potassium chloride electrolyte.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  14. Effects of additional cysteine in fish diet on mercury concentration
    Mok WJ, Hatanaka Y, Seoka M, Itoh T, Tsukamasa Y, Ando M
    Food Chem, 2014 Mar 15;147:340-5.
    PMID: 24206728 DOI: 10.1016/j.foodchem.2013.09.157
    Mercury contamination, especially of seafood, continues to attract public concern. Cysteine, NH2CH(CH2SH)COOH, is a naturally occurring hydrophobic amino acid that contains a thiol group. The purpose of our study was to investigate the use of the additive cysteine in fish diets to reduce mercury concentration in fish, and to observe the effectiveness of dietary cysteine in fish livers. Diets containing 1% and 10% cysteine successfully decreased mercury concentrations in fish compared with the 0% cysteine diet. The liver may have formed excessive lipid droplets or was unable to mobilize lipid stores during exposure to mercury; additional cysteine could help to mobilize excessive lipids in it.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  15. Contamination of mercury in tongkat Ali hitam herbal preparations
    Ang HH, Lee KL
    Food Chem Toxicol, 2006 Aug;44(8):1245-50.
    PMID: 16567029 DOI: 10.1016/j.fct.2006.01.014
    The DCA (Drug Control Authority), Malaysia has implemented the phase three registration of traditional medicines on 1 January 1992. As such, a total of 100 products in various pharmaceutical dosage forms of a herbal preparation found in Malaysia, containing tongkat Ali hitam, either single or combined preparations, were analyzed for the presence of a heavy toxic metal, mercury, using atomic absorption spectrophotometer, after performing a simple random sampling to enable each sample an equal chance of being selected in an unbiased manner. Results showed that 26% of these products possessed 0.53-2.35 ppm of mercury, and therefore, do not comply with the quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia. The quality requirement for traditional medicines in Malaysia is not exceeding 0.5 ppm for mercury. Out of these 26 products, four products have already registered with the DCA, Malaysia whilst the rest, however, have not registered with the DCA, Malaysia.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  16. Heavy metals in spices and herbs from wholesale markets in Malaysia
    Nordin N, Selamat J
    Food Addit Contam Part B Surveill, 2013;6(1):36-41.
    PMID: 24786623 DOI: 10.1080/19393210.2012.721140
    As, Cd, Pb and Hg were analysed in commonly consumed spices and herbs in Malaysia. The range of As, Cd, Pb and Hg content was 0.24-2.54, 0.23-8.07, 1.54-8.94 and 0.06-0.52 µg g(-1), respectively. The highest concentration of Cd, Pb and Hg in spices and herbs exceeded the maximum permitted proportion, which are 1, 2 and 0.05 µg g(-1), respectively. This study suggests further monitoring of Cd, Pb and Hg on daily consumption of spices and herbs and its toxicological implication for consumers since only the amount of As was lower than the permitted concentration.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  17. Optimisation of the supercritical extraction of toxic elements in fish oil
    Hajeb P, Jinap S, Shakibazadeh Sh, Afsah-Hejri L, Mohebbi GH, Zaidul IS
    Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess, 2014;31(10):1712-22.
    PMID: 25090228 DOI: 10.1080/19440049.2014.942707
    This study aims to optimise the operating conditions for the supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) of toxic elements from fish oil. The SFE operating parameters of pressure, temperature, CO2 flow rate and extraction time were optimised using a central composite design (CCD) of response surface methodology (RSM). High coefficients of determination (R²) (0.897-0.988) for the predicted response surface models confirmed a satisfactory adjustment of the polynomial regression models with the operation conditions. The results showed that the linear and quadratic terms of pressure and temperature were the most significant (p < 0.05) variables affecting the overall responses. The optimum conditions for the simultaneous elimination of toxic elements comprised a pressure of 61 MPa, a temperature of 39.8ºC, a CO₂ flow rate of 3.7 ml min⁻¹ and an extraction time of 4 h. These optimised SFE conditions were able to produce fish oil with the contents of lead, cadmium, arsenic and mercury reduced by up to 98.3%, 96.1%, 94.9% and 93.7%, respectively. The fish oil extracted under the optimised SFE operating conditions was of good quality in terms of its fatty acid constituents.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  18. Optimizing conditions for methylmercury extraction from fish samples for GC analysis using response surface methodology
    Hajeb P, Jinap S, Abu Bakar F, Bakar J
    Food Addit Contam Part A Chem Anal Control Expo Risk Assess, 2009 Jun;26(6):829-38.
    PMID: 19680957 DOI: 10.1080/02652030902751704
    Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to determine the optimum experimental conditions to extract methylmercury from fish samples for GC analysis. The influence of four variables - acid concentration (3-12 M), cysteine concentration (0.5-2% w/v), solvent volume (3-9 ml) and extraction time (10-30 min) - on recovery of methylmercury was evaluated. The detection limit for methylmercury analysis using a microelectron capture detector was 7 ng g(-1) in fish samples. The mean recovery under optimum conditions was 94%. Experimental data were adequately fitted into a second-order polynomial model with multiple regression coefficients (r(2)) of 0.977. The four variables had a significant effect (p < 0.05) on the recovery of methylmercury from a reference material (BCR-463). Optimum conditions for methylmercury extraction were found using an acid concentration of 12.2 M, cysteine concentration of 2.4%, solvent volume of 1.5 ml and extraction time of 35 min. The validation of the developed method to analyze methylmercury in fish samples exhibited good agreement with mercury content in the samples.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
  19. Toxic metals in Perna viridis mussel and surface seawater in Pasir Gudang coastal area, Malaysia, and its health implications
    Mahat NA, Muktar NK, Ismail R, Abdul Razak FI, Abdul Wahab R, Abdul Keyon AS
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2018 Oct;25(30):30224-30235.
    PMID: 30155632 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-018-3033-8
    Contamination of toxic metals in P. viridis mussels has been prevalently reported; hence, health risk assessment for consuming this aquaculture product as well as the surrounding surface seawater at its harvesting sites appears relevant. Since Kampung Pasir Puteh, Pasir Gudang is the major harvesting site in Malaysia, and because the last heavy metal assessment was done in 2009, its current status remains unclear. Herein, flame atomic absorption spectrometry and flow injection mercury/hydride system were used to determine the concentrations of Pb, Cd, Cu and total Hg in P. viridis mussels and surface seawater (January-March 2015), respectively. Significantly higher concentrations of these metals were found in P. viridis mussels (p 
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis
  20. Characteristics of Pelargonium radula as a mercury bioindicator for safety assessment of drinking water
    Majid NA, Phang IC, Darnis DS
    Environ Sci Pollut Res Int, 2017 Oct;24(29):22827-22838.
    PMID: 28150147 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-017-8484-9
    Identification of Pelargonium radula as bioindicator for mercury (Hg) detection confers a new hope for monitoring the safety of drinking water consumption. Hg, like other non-essential metals, inflicts the deterioration of biological functions in human and other creatures. In the present study, effects of Hg on the physiology and biochemical content of P. radula were undertaken to understand the occurrence of the morphological changes observed. Young leaves of P. radula were treated with different concentrations of Hg-containing solution (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 ppb) along with controls for 4 h, prior to further analysis. Elevated Hg concentration in treatment solution significantly prompted an increased accumulation of Hg in the leaf tissues. Meanwhile, total protein, chlorophyll and low molecular mass thiol contents (cysteine, glutathione and oxidized glutathione) decreased as Hg accumulation increased. However, phytochelatin 2 productions were induced in the treated leaves, in comparison to the control. Based on these findings, it is postulated that as low as 0.5 ppb of Hg interferes with the metabolic processes of plant cells, which was reflected from the morphological changes exhibited on P. radula leaves-the colour of the Hg-treated leaves changed from green to yellowish-brown, became chlorosis and wilted. Changes in the tested characteristics of plant are closely related to the Hg-induced morphological changes on P. radula leaves, a potential bioindicator for detecting Hg in drinking water.
    Matched MeSH terms: Mercury/analysis*
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