Investigation of heavy metal accumulation in Polygonum thunbergii for phytoextraction

In this study, cadmium (II), lead (II), copper (II) and zinc (II) were determined in Polygonum thunbergii and soil from the Mankyung River watershed, Korea. Soil samples contained detectable lead (<17.5 (mu)g g-1), copper (<8.4 (mu)g g-1) and zinc (<24.5 (mu)g g-1), whereas cadmium was undetectable. Whole plants of P. thunbergii contained detectable lead (<320.8 (mu)g g-1), copper (<863.2 (mu)g g-1) and zinc (<2427.3 (mu)g g-1), whereas cadmium was detectable only in the stem (<7.4 (mu)g g-1) and root (<10.1 (mu)g g-1). Whole plant concentrations were very different for each metal, particularly in the case of zinc. The mean content of heavy metal in the whole plants increased in the order of cadmium (8.5 (mu)g g-1)