Azizullah

Water pollution in Pakistan and its impact on public health--a review.

Water pollution is one of the major threats to public health in Pakistan. Drinking water quality is poorly managed and monitored. Pakistan ranks at number 80 among 122 nations regarding drinking water quality. Drinking water sources, both surface and groundwater are contaminated with coliforms, toxic metals and pesticides throughout the country. Various drinking water quality parameters set by WHO are frequently violated. Human activities like improper disposal of municipal and industrial effluents and indiscriminate applications of agrochemicals in agriculture are the main factors contributing to the deterioration of water quality. Microbial and chemical pollutants are the main factors responsible exclusively or in combination for various public health problems. This review discusses a detailed layout of drinking water quality in Pakistan with special emphasis on major pollutants, sources of pollution and the consequent health problems. The data presented in this review are extracted from various studies published in national and international journals. Also reports released by the government and non-governmental organizations are included.

Ethnomedicine use in the war affected region of northwest Pakistan.

BackgroundNorth-West of Pakistan is bestowed with medicinal plant resources due to diverse geographical and habitat conditions. The traditional use of plants for curing various diseases forms an important part of the region’s cultural heritage. The study was carried out to document medicinal plants used in Frontier Region (FR) Bannu, an area affected by the “War on Terror”.MethodsFieldwork was carried out in four different seasons (spring, autumn, summer and winter) from March 2012 to February 2013. Data on medicinal plants was collected using structured and semi-structured questionnaires from 250 respondents. The voucher specimens were collected, processed and identified following standard methods.ResultsOf the 107 species of ethnomedicinal plants reported, fifty percent species are herbaceous. The majority of the reported species were wild (55%) but a substantial proportion are cultivated (29%). For most of the plant species (34%), leaves are the most commonly used part in the preparation of ethnomedicines. The most common use of species is for carminative purposes (14 species), with the next most common use being for blood purification (11 species). The main methods used in the preparation of ethnomedicinal recipes involves grinding and boiling, and nearly all the remedies are taken orally along with ingredients such as water, milk or honey for ease of ingestion. Traditional healers prepare plant remedies using one or more plants. There was a significant correlation (r2 = 0.95) between the age of local people and the number of plants known to them, which indicates that in the coming 20 years, an approximate decrease of 75% in the indigenous knowledge may be expected.ConclusionTraditional medicines are important to the livelihoods of rural communities in the region affected by the Global war on Terrorism. The medicinal recipes are indigenous; however, there is a threat to their future use on account of rapid modernization and terrorist activities. Documentation of medicinal plants and recipes may help in the conservation of the regional indigenous medicinal knowledge for future generations and to provide a baseline for further studies.

Toxicity assessment of a common laundry detergent using the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis.

Synthetic detergents are among the commonly used chemicals in everyday life. Detergents, reaching aquatic environments through domestic and municipal wastewater, can cause many different effects in aquatic organisms. The present study was aimed at the toxicity evaluation of a commonly used laundry detergent, Ariel, using the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis as a biotest organism. Different parameters of the flagellate like motility, swimming velocity, cell shape, gravitactic orientation, photosynthesis and concentration of light harvesting pigments were used as end points for the toxicity assessment. No Observed Effect Concentration (NOEC) and EC(50) values were calculated for the end point parameters at four different incubation times, i.e. 0, 6, 24 and 72 h. After 72 h incubation, swimming velocity of the cells was found to be the most sensitive parameter giving NOEC and EC(50) values of 10.8 and 34 mg L(-1), respectively. After 72 h exposure to the detergent, chlorophyll a and total carotenoids were significantly decreased in cultures treated with Ariel at concentrations of 50 mg L(-1) and above while chlorophyll b significantly decreased at concentrations above 750 mg L(-1). The maximum inhibitory effect on the quantum yield of photosystem II was observed after 24 h exposure and thereafter a recovery trend was observed. Motility, gravitaxis and cell shape were strongly impaired immediately upon exposure to the detergent, but with increasing exposure time these parameters showed acclimatization to the stress and thus the NOEC values obtained after 72 h were higher than those immediately after exposure.

Comparative toxicity of the pesticides carbofuran and malathion to the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis

Pesticides are toxic chemicals used for agricultural as well as non-agricultural purposes. The toxicity of pesticides does not remain limited to the site of application but they also cause toxicity to non-target organisms in terrestrial as well as in aquatic environments. This study discusses the comparative toxicity of a carbamate (carbofuran) and an organophosphorus (malathion) pesticide to the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis during short- and long-term exposures. To evaluate the toxicity of the pesticides, different parameters of the flagellate, like cell density, motility, swimming velocity, cell shape, gravitactic orientation, photosynthetic efficiency, and concentration of light harvesting pigments, were used as end points. Carbofuran was found to be more toxic to E. gracilis than malathion and adversely affected almost all the tested parameters in short- and long-term experiments. The only significant adverse effect by malathion could be demonstrated on the swimming velocity of cells in short-term experiments. The adverse effects of the pesticides were more pronounced during short-term than during long-term exposure.

Chlorophyll derivatives can be an efficient weapon in the fight against dengue.

Dengue, a mosquito-borne viral infection, is one of the major public health concerns in the tropical and subtropical regions of the world. Approximately, 2.5 billion people across the world are at risk from dengue and 50 to 100 million new infections of dengue occur annually. There is yet no vaccine or medicine available against dengue, and treatment remains only supportive. Targeting its vector by a combination of biological and chemical approaches and management of breeding sites are currently the only existing approaches to control or eliminate dengue. Chlorophyll derivatives like chlorophyllin and pheophorbide have been reported as effective natural photosensitizers against larvae of several insects including flies. Chlorophyll derivatives were also reported effective against larval stages of freshwater snails as well as against certain parasites of fish. This article briefly discusses the possible application of chlorophyll derivatives in controlling dengue vectors and hence the disease itself. Chlorophyll derivatives can prove to be a good contributor in an integrated approach against dengue.

Fast bioassessment of wastewater and surface water quality using freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis—a case study from Pakistan

Wastewater is a big source of water pollution in the world. Selected wastewater samples from Dera Ismail Khan (D.I. Khan), a city in Pakistan, were analyzed for physicochemical and ecotoxicological properties. Samples from the Indus River before and after the municipal wastewater is discharged into it were tested to determine the effects of municipal wastewaters from D.I. Khan on the river Indus. Different parameters of the freshwater flagellate Euglena gracilis such as motility, swimming velocity, gravitactic orientation, cell shape, and photosynthetic efficiency were used as end points. Gravitactic orientation and cell shape were found to be significantly impaired by the wastewater samples. Swimming velocity and relative electron transport rate of cells were positively affected by all water samples. Quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) was not affected, except by ghee (oil) industry effluent where it was significantly increased. Comparison of upstream and downstream samples from the Indus River showed that waste effluents from D.I. Khan affect the physicochemical and ecological properties of the river Indus.

Sensitivity of various parameters in Euglena gracilis to short-term exposure to industrial wastewaters

Due to the presence of various potential pollutants industrial wastewaters pose considerable threats to natural waters and make it unfit for the aquatic biota. Analysis of wastewaters by chemical methods is a common practice; however, it does not reflect the toxic effects on living organism. Therefore, bioassessment is necessary for monitoring of wastewater quality. In the present study, the toxic effects of wastewater samples from different industries were evaluated using Euglena gracilis as a biotest organism. Various parameters of the freshwater flagellate E. gracilis like motility, swimming velocity, cell shape, gravitactic orientation (using the automatic biotest ECOTOX) and photosynthetic efficiency (using a pulse amplitude modulated fluorometer) were used as end points for toxicity assessment. In addition, the samples were analysed for some ecologically important physicochemical properties. With some exceptions, most of the physicochemical properties of the tested samples were within the acceptable range of national environmental quality standards for municipal and industrial effluents. However, all the water samples adversely affected different parameters in E. gracilis. This study led to the conclusion that different toxic substances present in wastewater, even at low concentrations, can be a possible threat to aquatic biota. The results of this study prove that ECOTOX is a sensitive, easy, and fast bioassay for monitoring of water and wastewater quality. Gravitactic orientation and cell compactness of E. gracilis were the most sensitive parameters to wastewater toxicity.

Toxicological effects of bisphenol A on growth and antioxidant defense system in Oryza sativa as revealed by ultrastructure analysis.

The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of bisphenol A (BPA) on rice seedlings grown in a hydroponic system. The obtained results demonstrated that at lower concentration (up to 10µM) BPA had some stimulatory effects on the growth of rice seedlings but at higher doses it significantly inhibited seedlings growth. The photosynthetic pigments were significantly decreased by high doses of BPA. Exposure to BPA caused increased membrane permeability in root cells and resulted in increased concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and increased lipid peroxidation as revealed by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assay. In leaves, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity exhibited an increase at lower concentrations of BPA but was inhibited at the highest dose (200µM) of BPA. At 100µM of BPA, a significant increase in antioxidant activities in leaves was observed but at 200µM this activity was inhibited. In roots, a significant decrease in enzymes activity was recorded at the highest concentration of BPA (200µM); however, ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and catalase (CAT) activities were significantly increased at the concentrations of 10 and 50µM in comparison to the control. Moreover, the present results revealed that BPA severely affected cell organelles in rice seedlings. It can be concluded that the observed adverse effects in rice seedlings by BPA in the present study could be attributed to the oxidative stress caused by BPA.

Impact of marble industry effluents on water and sediment quality of Barandu River in Buner District, Pakistan.

Industries play an important role in improving the living standard but at the same time cause several environmental problems. Therefore, it is necessary to evaluate the impact of industries on the quality of environment. In the present study, the impact of marble industry effluents on water and sediment quality of Barandu River in Buner District, Pakistan was evaluated. Water and sediment samples were collected at three different sampling sites (upstream, industrial, and downstream sites) from Barandu River and their physicochemical properties were inter-compared. In addition, different marble stones and mix water (wastewater) from marble industry were analyzed. The measured physicochemical parameters of river water including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), alkalinity, total hardness, Ca and Mg hardness, total dissolved solid (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), sulfates (SO42−), sodium (Na+), potassium (K+), nitrites (NO2−), nitrate (NO3−), chloride (Cl−), calcium (Ca2+), and magnesium (Mg2+) were found to be significantly altered by effluent discharges of marble industries. Similarly, heavy metal concentrations in both water and sediments of the river were significantly increased by marble industry wastewater. It is concluded that large quantities of different pollutants are added to Barandu River due to direct disposal of marble industry effluents which degrades its quality. Therefore, it is recommended that direct disposal of marble industry wastewater should be banned and all effluents must be properly treated before discharging in the river water.

Effects of cypermethrin on survival, morphological and biochemical aspects of rohu (Labeo rohita) during early development

The present study was conducted to investigate the effect of sub-lethal doses of Cypermethrin (CYP) on the survival and morphological and biochemical aspects of rohu (Labeo rohita) during early developmental stages. Newly fertilized eggs were incubated in the presence of sub-lethal concentration of CYP (20% of LC50 i.e., 8.43 μg L(-1)) in a well designed flow through system. Increased mortality was found with increase in exposure time. Deformities like eroded yolk and margins, elongated yolk sac, larvae with short tail, no eyes or larvae with zigzag movement and paralyzed larvae were observed in CYP treated group from blastula to fry stage. The activities of antioxidant like Catalase (CAT), Peroxidase (POD) and Lactoperoxidase (LPO) were decreased from 24 to 96 h in the control group whereas increased in CYP treated group. The Glutathione reducatse (GR) activity was also increased with time in both the control and treated groups; however, the activity was significantly higher in CYP treated group. Similarly, the whole body cortisol level showed an increasing trend with time in both control and treated groups. However, in CYP exposed group the cortisol level was considerably higher after 24 h exposure but statistically comparable to the control group after 96 h. It can be concluded from the present results that CYP even at very low concentration adversely affects the early development of L. rohita and enhances mortality. The obtained results reveal that CYP may affect the wild population of fish by inducing oxidative stress and modulating stress response during early ontogenesis.