Phytochemical Composition of Gleditsia triacanthos L. Grow in Nickel- and Lead-Artificially Contaminated Soil
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14500/aro.12912Keywords:
Extraction solvents, Fabaceae, Heavy metal, Lead and Nickel, PhytochemicalsAbstract
—Plants in the Fabaceae family are rich in phytochemicals, and their composition can be influenced by environmental factors such as heavy metals. A factorial experiment using a completely randomized design was conducted in an open field in an open field in the Koya district, Erbil, Iraq to evaluate the effects of soil contamination with NiCl2 or PbCl2 (0, 15, 30, and 45 mg/kg soil) on eight phytochemicals in Gleditsia triacanthos L. leaves. Three extraction solvents – water, methanol, and ethyl acetate were compared. Methanol extracted the highest amounts of phenols, flavonoids, glycosides, and alkaloids, while ethyl acetate was more effective for steroids, terpenes, and tannins. Water gave the highest saponin content. Nickel contamination significantly increased phenols and terpenes but reduced flavonoids, glycosides, steroids, and saponins across all solvents. Lead contamination increased flavonoids in all extracts, reduced glycosides in water and methanol extracts, increased methanolic terpenes, and decreased saponins in water extracts. The highest phenol (62.14 mg/g) and alkaloid (3.05 mg/g) contents were obtained with methanol under the Ni45Pb30 treatment. Maximum flavonoid (17.31 mg/g), glycoside (2.44 mg/g), and terpene (5.95 mg/g) levels were recorded under the Ni15Pb30, Ni0Pb0, and Ni30Pb45 treatments, respectively. Overall, nickel and lead contamination significantly altered the phytochemical composition of G. triacanthos L. leaves.
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Accepted 2026-08-05
Published 2026-10-05
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