Published in Scientific Papers. Series E. Land Reclamation, Earth Observation & Surveying, Environmental Engineering, Vol. XIII
Written by Violina ANGELOVA
The present study determines the chemical composition of lemongrass oil, content of heavy metals and identifies the possibility of lemongrass growth on soil contaminated by heavy metals. The experimental plots were situated 0.5 km from the source of pollution, the Non-Ferrous-Metal Works (MFMW) near Plovdiv, Bulgaria. Lemongrass is a heavy metal tolerant plant that can be grown on heavily heavy metal contaminated soils (45.0 mg/kg Cd, 1917.9 mg/kg Pb and 2273.1 mg/kg Zn). Pb and Cd accumulate mainly in the above-ground mass, Hg - in the root system, while Zn accumulates approximately in equal amounts in the roots and above-ground mass. Oxygenated monoterpenes (85.57%) predominate in lemongrass essential oil, followed by monoterpene hydrocarbons (8.77%) and oxygenated aliphatic hydrocarbons (3.13%), oxygenated sesquiterpenes (0.84%), sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (0.66%) and phenylpropanoid compounds (0.61%). The content of heavy metals in lemongrass essential oil is lower than the accepted maximum values and meets the requirements for an environmentally friendly product.
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