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Arsenic is a ubiquitous element that occurs either as a pure element or as a component of many minerals, sulfur, and metals. Elemental arsenic and its compounds are carcinogenic, mutagenic, and teratogenic for living organisms in the environment at elevated levels. Global reports of arsenic contamination in soil and groundwater are frequent. Reports also indicate arsenic contamination in the groundwater and soil of the Rohtak district of Haryana state. The present work was designed to check whether agrochemicals could be a possible source of arsenic contamination in the study area, as no geogenic sources of arsenic were reported. In total, 82 samples of commonly used agrochemicals differing in compositions and brands were collected and analyzed by the fluorescence method using the Fluorat-02-4M Analyzer. Phosphate fertilizers were found to be highly contaminated; the highest amount of arsenic was reported in N: P: K (0:52:34) with a mean value of 345 ppb, followed by N: P: K (12:32:16) with a mean value of 292 ppb, followed by diammonium phosphate with a mean value of 252 ppb. Organic fertilizers show comparatively low values. Arsenic content in various pesticides ranged from 6 ppb to 228 ppb. Despite the ban on arsenic- containing pesticides, nearly all agrochemicals contain it. Research indicates that farmers should reduce their use of chemical fertilizers and promote the use of organic fertilizers instead. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In most of developing countries, open dumpsites are frequently opted as the best choice to get rid of waste, but this type of practice has severe threats to the environment. This may be considered as one of the factors in contamination of soil and groundwater. The study examined the arsenic and physicochemical properties of soil around a municipal waste dumpsite in Rohtak city, Haryana. For Rohtak city, leachate secretion and generation of various gases at landfill site may be a factor in contamination of soil around the dumpsite. 13 samples of soil were collected from the surrounding area of dumpsite within 2 km area. Soil samples were tested for various parameters like pH, EC, moisture content, bulk density, water holding capacity, organic matter, chloride and arsenic. The pH values of the various samples of different locations ranged from 7.14 to 8.34, EC ranged from 1034-9536 add μS/cm with a mean value of 3484 μS/cm, organic matter of the soil samples of present study ranged from 1.26 to 3.16%. Water holding capacity of soil samples ranged from 51.02% to 59.14%, moisture content was found from 3.12 to 13.86%, bulk density was found from 1.28-1.89 g/cm³. Range of chloride content was 358-4165 mg/ kg with mean value 1679 mg/kg. Higher level of arsenic contamination is found in the surrounding soil samples, ranged from 410 ppb to 840 ppb with mean value of 618 ppb which may be due to leachate secretion at dumpsite area that make soil unsuitable for agricultural purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medicinal plants are rich in bioactive components that are utilized to treat various human ailments. They are crucial to healing as well. Phytochemical constituents are responsible for the medicinal activity of plant species. Phytochemical screening is an important step in identifying bioactive compounds present in particular medicinal plants. Hence, in this present work, phytochemical screening of leaf extract of some traditional medicinal plants, namely Cannabis sativa, Ricinus communis, and Bryophyllum pinnatum was carried out. The solvent extracts of the leaves of respective plants were prepared using the Soxhlet apparatus with acetone, chloroform, petroleum ether, and aqueous solvents. Qualitative phytochemical analysis of plants included tests for reducing sugars, flavonoids, steroids, glycosides, polyphenols, tannins, terpenoids, and coumarins. All eight tested phytoconstituents were found present in all three plants in any solvent extracts. Aqueous extract confirmed the presence of a maximum number of phytoconstituents in C. sativa in comparison to other solvents. Acetone confirmed the maximum and chloroform confirmed the minimum number of phytoconstituents in R. communis, while chloroform confirmed the maximum and aqueous extract confirmed the minimum number of phytoconstituents in B. pinnatum. These phytochemicals may be a source of innovative plant-based medications because their existence is connected with the therapeutic potential of these plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]