Phytoremediation of cyanophos insecticide by Plantago major L. in water

Cyanophos is commonly used in Egypt to control various agricultural and horticultural pests. It is not easily hydrolyzed and thus they are highly persistent and accumulate in various aquatic compartments such as rivers and lakes. Such issues may be solved by phytoremediation, which is the use of plants for the cleanup of pollutants. Here, we tested Plantago major L. to clean water polluted with cyanophos insecticide under laboratory conditions.The biosorption capacity (KF) of cyanophos were 76.91, 26.18 and 21.09 μg/g for dry roots, fruit (seeds with shells) and leaves of the Plantago major L., respectively. Viable Plantago major L. in water significantly reduced cyanophos by 11.0% & 94.7% during 2 hours & 9 days of exposure as compared with 0.8% & 36.9% in water without the plantain. In water with plantain, cyanophos significantly accumulated in plantain roots and leaves to reach maximum levels after two and four hours of treatment, respectively. After 1 day, the concentration of cyanophos decreased in roots and shoots until the end of testing. Three major degradation products were detected at roots and leaf samples. Here we demonstrate that plantago major L. removes efficiently cyanophos residue in water and has a potential activity for pesticide phytoremediation.