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The toxicity of eight potentially toxic trace elements (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb and Zn) to Pistia stratiotes was examined to determine if this plant showed sufficient tolerance and metal accumulation to be used to phytoremediate waste water and/or natural water bodies polluted with these heavy metals. Young plants of equal size were grown hydroponically and amended with 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0 and 5.0 mM of each heavy metal individually for 21 days. Root elongation as well as emergence of new roots decreased significantly with increase in metal concentrations. The plant had the lowest and the highest tolerance indices for Hg and Zn respectively. The study indicated reduction in the rate of leaf expansion relative to metal type, their concentrations and the duration of exposure. A significant reduction in biomass production was observed in metal treated plants compared with the control plants. The relative growth rate of P. stratiotes was retarded by heavy metals under study. All trace elements accumulated to higher concentrations in root tissue rather than in shoot. Trace element accumulation in tissues and the bioconcentration factors were proportional to the initial concentration of individual metals in the growth medium and the duration of exposure. In terms of trace element removal, P. stratiotes presented differential accumulation and tolerance levels for different metals at similar treatment conditions. The implications of these results for phytoremediation are discussed.

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Two edible Nigerian macro-fungiLycoperdon pusilum and Lycoperdon giganteum were assayed in-vitro for their antimicrobial activities using water, methanol and ethanol as extractive solvents.Generally, the extracts were selectively active on few clinical pathogenic microorganisms.Ethanol was the best extractive solvent followed in order by methanol and water (P< 0.05

Eichhornia crassipes was tested for its ability to bioconcentrate 8 toxic metals (Ag, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, and Zn) commonly found in wastewater from industries. Young plants of equal size were grown hydroponically and amended with 0, 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0, 3.0, and 5.0 mM of each heavy metal individually for 21 days. The test plant had the lowest and the highest tolerance indices for Hg and Zn, respectively. A significant (P £ .05) reduction in biomass production was observed in metal treated plants compared with the control. All strace elements accumulated to higher concentrations in roots than in shoots. Trace element concentrations in tissues and the bioconcentration factors (BCF) were proportional to the initial concentration of individual metal in the growth medium and the duration of exposure. From a phytoremediation perspective, E. crassipes is a promising plant species for remediation of natural water bodies and/or wastewater polluted with low levels of Zn, Cr, Cu, Cd, Pb, Ag and Ni.