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In this study, two aquatic macrophytes namely, Azolla pinnata and Lemna minor are floating plants were obtained from Agric. Microbial Dept., Soils, Water and Environment Research Institute (SWERI), Agric. Res. Center (ARC), Giza, Egypt and used to some heavy metal such as Iron, Zinc and lead This study reported the ability of two aquatic plants (A. pinnata and L. minor) to remove Iron, Zinc and lead from aqueous solutions FeSO4.7H2O, ZnSo4.7H2O and C4H6O4Pb.3H2O of four different initial concentrations (0-100 ppm) for 20 days under greenhouse conditions. The results indicated that A. pinnata gave higher growth density than that recorded for L. minor during all the tested incubation periods from zero time up to 20 days. Results obtained in this study showed a maximum removal of Fe, Zn (88.18, 84.63 %) by L. minor at 100ppm initial metal concentration however the maximum removal by A. pinnata at the same concentration was (86.97, 81.14%) after 20 day of incubation. These A. pinnata appeared to be more efficient than L. minor for removing Pb .On the other hand A. pinnata was better than L. minor in biomass for each of the elements used in the experiment during the incubation period.

Introduction: Echinacea purpurea is a flowering plant commonly used as an herbal medicine despite insufficient scientific bases to validate its usage. The present study aimed to examine in vitro and in vivo hepatoprotective effects of aqueous and alcoholic extracts of E. purpurea flowers. Methods: In vitro protection against hepato-cytotoxicity was carried out on human HepG-2 cells using colorimetric tetrazolium (MTT) assay, while the in vivo hepatoprotective activity was studied against carbon-tetrachloride (CCl4) induced acute hepatotoxicity in rats. Results: The results revealed that the extracts of E. purpurea induced discernable in vitro protection on HepG-2 cells and in vivo against CCl4 induced hepatotoxicity. Both extracts were significantly able to restore the serum levels of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), total bilirubin, total protein, and albumin to normal levels compared to the CCl4 intoxicated group. In addition, the extracts markedly mitigated the oxidative stress by decreasing Malondialdehyde (MDA) and increasing superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) markers compared to the CCl4 intoxicated group. It was also associated with the down-regulation of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) levels in liver tissues. Histopathological examination revealed a decrease in hepatocytes’ degenerative changes and noticeable improvement of the liver damage by extracts of E. purpurea. Conclusion: These findings have proven that aqueous and alcoholic extracts of E. purpurea flowers have a significant hepatoprotective effect, probably owing to antioxidant, anti-inflammatory activities, and regulating apoptotic-related genes. This confirms the ethnomedicinal uses of E. purpurea in patients suffering from liver diseases.