Revue des sciences chimiques

Bark of Neem Tree (Azadirachta indica) as Bio-indicator for Monitoring Environmental Pollution in Katsina Township, Nigeria.

Abstract

Fowotade SA, Abdullah SA , Umar AA, Saleh I , Oladeji SOand Otokiti MJ

The bark of neem tree (Azadirachta indica) was used in this study as bio-indicator to monitor heavy metal pollution in Katsina Township. Barks were sampled from four sites in Katsina Township, which include; Katsina Steel Rolling Company Round-about (Site A), Kofar Kwaya Round-about (Site B), Kofar Yandaka Round-about (Site C) and Nigeria Army Barrack, Natsinta (Site D). The samples were analyzed for Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cobalt (Co), Chromium (Cr), Nickel (Ni) and Zinc (Zn) using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry (AAS). The results obtained revealed Fe (52.50 μgg-1-196.25 μgg-1), Mn (19.50 μgg-1-34.25 μgg-1), Zn (2.41 μgg-1-8.43 μgg-1), Cr (<1.00 μgg-1-18.75 μgg-1), Co (3.01 μgg-1-11.50 μgg-1), Pb (<1.00 μgg-1-3.50 μgg-1), Ni (1.00 μgg-1-4.25 μgg-1) and Cu (0.13 μgg-1-2.75 μgg-1) across the four sites. The order of metal concentration from each site is site A (Fe>Mn>Cr>Co>Zn>Ni>Pb>Cu), site B (Fe>Mn>Co>Zn>Ni>Pb>Cr>Cu), site C (Fe>Mn>Zn>Co>Pb>Ni>Cu>Cr) and site D (Fe>Mn>Co>Cu>Zn>Ni>Cr>Pb). The heavy metal burdens from site A are the highest while those from site D are the least. The result also indicated a correlation between the heavy metal concentrations and distance of each site from the source of contamination with the exception of Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations. Amidst the heavy metal analyzed Fe has the highest level while Cu has the least. From this study the heavy metal load does not pose any immediate health risk to the inhabitants and other lives in Katsina Township