The DOI matches its Crossref record; 22 of the 23 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 9 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.
Phytoextraction of copper and lead from spiked soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia)
Open accessAbstract
Soil contaminated with heavy metals industrially or anthropogenically is a major global concern. This study aimed at investigating the potential of Acalypha wilkesiana and Polyscias fruticosa plants to remove copper (Cu) and lead (Pb) from soil spiked with solutions of Cu and Pb. Information on the ability of both plants to uptake and accumulate Cu and Pb from spiked soil is insufficient. Plant cuttings were grown in a 2 kg soil spiked with heavy metals and kept at the greenhouse for the period of 240 days. Root, stem and leaf of the plants were analyzed for Cu and Pb using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Cu accumulation (2.58 -542.66 mg/kg) was appreciably higher than Pb accumulation (26.24 - 46.44 mg/kg) in A. wilkesiana, while Cu accumulation ranged 4.54 - 384.19 mg/kg was found to be lower than the Pb accumulation ranged 1.22-759.48 mg/kg in P. fruticosa. The maximum accumulation of Cu and Pb in the shoot were found to be 52.50 and 82.93 mg/kg in A. wilkesiana, while 38.26 and 123.98 mg/kg in P. fruticosa. Accumulation of Cu and Pb by both plants were correlated using the indices bioaccumulation, transfer factor and translocation index. The result is encouraging and suggests that both plants could be applied for phytoextraction of Cu and Pb from heavy metal spiked soil.
Overview
CoChat Summary
TL;DR
A 240-day greenhouse pot study tested *Acalypha wilkesiana* and *Polyscias fruticosa* for phytoextraction of Cu and Pb from spiked soil. Both plants survived and accumulated the metals, but neither met hyperaccumulator thresholds; *A. wilkesiana* removed more Cu (12.15%) and *P. fruticosa* more Pb (3.93%).
Key findings
- Both species survived and grew in Cu/Pb-spiked soil without chlorosis, necrosis, or leaf death. Cu was mainly retained in roots (shoot/root ratio <1), while Pb was more mobile to shoots (shoot/root ratio >1 except at 60 days).
- In *A. wilkesiana*, Cu accumulation ranged 2.58–542.66 mg/kg versus Pb 26.24–46.44 mg/kg; maximum shoot Cu and Pb were 52.50 and 82.93 mg/kg. In *P. fruticosa*, Cu ranged 4.54–384.19 mg/kg and Pb 1.22–759.48 mg/kg; maximum shoot Cu and Pb were 38.26 and 123.98 mg/kg.
- Removal: *A. wilkesiana* removed 6.65–12.15% Cu and 2.27–3.39% Pb; *P. fruticosa* removed 0.98–8.09% Cu and 0.16–3.93% Pb. *A. wilkesiana* had higher bioaccumulation factors for both metals (Cu up to 5.51; Pb up to 7.79) than *P. fruticosa* (Cu up to 2.67; Pb up to 1.13).
- Neither species was considered a hyperaccumulator: the paper notes a hyperaccumulator should exceed 1000 mg/kg Cu/Pb, and leaf concentrations did not reach the 100 mg/kg threshold for Cu or Pb.
Methods
- Pot experiment in a greenhouse: top soil from Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia; 48 polyethylene bags with ~2.0 kg soil each, spiked with Cu and Pb solution; unspiked controls; one cutting per bag; 240 days under 16 h light/22°C, 8 h dark/18°C, 59% humidity.
- Root, stem, and leaf tissues were separated, dried, ashed, acid-digested, and analyzed for Cu and Pb by AAS; soil was characterized for pH, CEC, moisture, EC, N, P, K, Cu, and Pb.
- Data analysis calculated transfer factor, translocation index, percentage removal, shoot/root concentration ratio, and bioaccumulation coefficient; plant values are reported as mean (n=3) in the tables.
Limitations
- Stated by authors: no growth-promoting microorganisms or soil amendments were used; polyethylene bags may have restricted root spread; using more than one metal in the spiking solution may have caused uptake competition. They recommend further tests with single-metal spiked soil, amendments, or growth-promoting bacteria.
- Evident from the text: this was a greenhouse pot study, not a field trial. Also, some reported values are inconsistent across abstract, conclusion, and tables (e.g., abstract states *A. wilkesiana* maximum shoot Cu of 52.50 mg/kg while Table 3 lists 56.50 mg/kg; conclusion reports *P. fruticosa* root Cu of 384.19 mg/kg while Table 2’s highest root Cu for *P. fruticosa* is 69.58 mg/kg).
Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Verification
Claims the paper makes
0 Valid · 0 Not valid · 9 Not checked · 56 Own results and interpretations
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“conversely, Pb concentration in the shoots was found to be 2 folds more than roots.”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“The concentration of Cu and Pb accumulated by A. wilkesiana and P. fruticosa were within the range 40-600 mg/kg for Cu and 5-150 mg/kg for Pb (Table 4).”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“while Cu accumulation ranged 4.54 -384.19 mg/kg was found to be lower than the Pb accumulation ranged 1.22-759.48mg/kg in P. fruticosa”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Abstract
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: unclear — It is unclear whether the paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Shoot and root concentration ratio for both plants studied for Cu was < 1 suggesting that Cu movement from the root to the shoot was low (Table 4).”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
A result the paper reports from its own data — it cites no other source for it, so there is none to check. The quote shows it is in the paper.
In the paper
“Percentage removal of Cu was found higher in both plants with values ranged between 6.65-12.15%and 0.98-8.09%for A. wilkesiana and P. fruticosa, respectively.”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
plain- Asserted: passes — The authors put it forward as true.
- Checkable: passes — It can be checked against evidence.
- Load-bearing: passes — The paper’s conclusions depend on it.
- Based: passes — The paper gives a reason why it holds.
37 more claims
Create a free account to see all 65 claims and to verify the 3 references still open.
- The quote only partly states this claim. 1
- It may state two separate claims as one. 17
- Probably not a substantial claim. 9
Self-check
Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.
Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.
Rated major: it would touch a result — a value a result rests on, reported and recomputed p-values on opposite sides of the significance level, two passages that conflict with no sign which is right, or a cited work retracted before this paper was published.
In the paper
“180 days 14.64±3.1381.61±32.04398.83±73.8292.68±34.823.8 88.1”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
Reported 398.83 · recomputed 58.83
Rated major: it would touch a result — a value a result rests on, reported and recomputed p-values on opposite sides of the significance level, two passages that conflict with no sign which is right, or a cited work retracted before this paper was published.
In the paper
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Soil Sample Spiking
“Each 2.0 kg of soil sample was spiked and mixed thoroughly with a 10.0 mL of 100.0 mg/L solution at a greenhouse.”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
“Cu and Pb mean values were 353.97±0.39 and 84.47±0.06mg/kg , respectively.”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Abstract
“The maximum accumulation of Cu and Pb in the shoot were found to be 52.50 and 82.93 mg/kg in A. wilkesiana”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
“180 days 56.50±2.4175.72±2.74599.16±4.67 110.04±4.249.4 68.8”
Rated minor: it would not touch a result — a value no result rests on, a p-value that stays on the same side of the significance level, or a conflict that is clerical, resolved elsewhere in the paper, or outside its own findings.
In the paper
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > CONCLUSION
“High concentration of Cu accumulated in the root of A. wilkesiana and P. fruticosa were 542.66±2.26 and 384.19±70.69mg/kg, respectively.”
§ Phytoextraction of Copper and Lead from Spiked Soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia) > Accumulation of Cu and Pb content in plants organs
“180 days 143.75±0.7444.19±1.696.04±1.398.60±1.7458.40±16.4911.07±2.7819.90±14.7561.71±17.29”
Citations
Cites
Evaluating heavy metal contents in nine composts using four digestion methods
Hseu, Z.-Y. (2004) · Bioresource Technology · doi:10.1016/j.biortech.2004.02.008 · Cited by 433
Malik, R. N., Husain, S. Z., & Nazir, I. (2010) · Pakistan Journal of Botany · Cited by 319
A Simple Digestion Procedure for Estimation of Total Nitrogen in Soils and Sediments
Nelson, D. W., & Sommers, L. E. (1972) · Journal of Environmental Quality · doi:10.2134/jeq1972.00472425000100040020x · Cited by 244
Accumulation and translocation of heavy metals in soil and plants from fly ash contaminated area.
Singh, R., Singh, D. P., Kumar, N., Bhargava, S. K., & Barman, S. C. (2010) · PubMed · Cited by 220
Phytoremediation: A Green Technology to Remove Environmental Pollutants
Paz-Alberto, A. M., & Sigua, G. C. (2013) · American Journal of Climate Change · doi:10.4236/ajcc.2013.21008 · Cited by 211
Aprile, F. M., & Lorandi, R. (2012) · Journal of Agricultural Science · doi:10.5539/jas.v4n6p278 · Cited by 168
Israr, M., Jewell, A., Kumar, D., & Sahi, S. V. (2011) · Journal of Hazardous Materials · doi:10.1016/j.jhazmat.2010.12.021 · Cited by 162
Zinc and copper toxicity in peanut, soybean, rice, and corn in soil mixtures
Borkert, C. M., Cox, F. R., & Tucker, M. R. (1998) · Communications in Soil Science and Plant Analysis · doi:10.1080/00103629809370171 · Cited by 148
Improving the phytoremediation of heavy metals contaminated soil by use of sewage sludge
Placek, A., Grobelak, A., & Kacprzak, M. (2015) · International Journal of Phytoremediation · doi:10.1080/15226514.2015.1086308 · Cited by 133
Effect of elemental sulphur on solubility of soil heavy metals and their uptake by maize
Cui, Y., Dong, Y., Li, H., & Wang, Q. (2003) · Environment International · doi:10.1016/s0160-4120(03)00182-x · Cited by 98
Research works printed but not linked: 9
- Ariyakanon, N., and Winaipanich, B. (2006). Phytoremediation of copper contaminated soil by Brassica juncea (L.), CZern and Bidens alba (L.) DC. Var. radiate. Journal of Scientific Research, 31(1), 49-56. Association of Official Analytical Chemists (AOAC). (1990). Protein (Crude) determination in animal feed: Copper Catalyst Kjeldahl Method. (984.13) Official Methods of Analysis, 15th Edition.
- Bhargava, A., Carmona, F. F., Bhargava, M., and Srivastava, S. (2012). Approaches for enhanced phytoextraction of heavy metals: Review. Journal of Environmental Management, 105, 103-120.
- Durumin Iya, N.I., Assim, Z.B., Ipor, I.B., Omolayo, A.O., Umaru, I.J., and Jume, B.H. (2018). Accumulation and translocation of heavy metals by Acalypha wilkesiana parts in the phytoextraction of contaminated soil. Indonesian Journal of Chemistry, 18 (3), 503 -513.
- Fati, A. (2011). Phytoremediation of Heavy Metal Contaminated Soil Using Chromolaena odorata and Lantana camara. Thesis of Master Degree. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology Kumasi.
- Grobelak, A., Kacprzak, M., and Fijalkowski, K. (2010). Phytoremediation -the underestimated potential of plants in the environment cleaning up. Journal of Ecology and Health, 14(6), 276-280.
- Paiva, H.N., Carvalho, J.G., and Siqueira, J. O. (2002). Translocation index of nutrients in cedro (Cedrela fissilis Vell.) and iperoxo (Tabebuia impetiginosa (Mart.) Standl.) seedlings submitted to increasing levels of cadmium, nickel and lead. Journal of Brazilian Forest Science (Revista Arvore), 26, 467-473.
- Paz-Alberto, A. M., Sigua, G. C., BauiB. G., and Prudente, J. A. (2007). Phytoextraction of Lead-Contaminated Soil Using Vetiver grass (Vetiveria zizanioides L.), Cogon grass (Imperata cylindrica L.) and Carabao grass (Pas-palum conjugatum L.). Environmental Science and Pollution Research, 14(7), 498-504.
- Rajoo, K. S., Ismail, A., Karam, D. S., and Muharam, F. M. (2016). Phytoremediation Studies on Soils Contaminated with Heavy Metals in Malaysia: A Review Article. American- Eurasian Journal of Agriculture and Environmental Science, 16(8), 1504-1514.
- Reynolds, S.G. (1971). The Alafua penetrometer for the measuring soil crust strength. Tropical Agriculture, 48(4), 365-366.
Cited by
Dokania, P., Maity, S., Patil, P. B., & Sarkar, A. (2023) · Applied Biochemistry and Biotechnology · doi:10.1007/s12010-023-04678-5 · Cited by 27
Phytoremediation Potential of Ixora coccinea in Multi-Metal Contaminated Soil
Iya, N. I. D., Sani, H. A., Yakasai, S. M., Badamasi, H., & Musa, Y. (2025) · UMYU Scientifica · doi:10.56919/usci.2543.015
Metadata
- Authors
- Durumin Iya, N. I., Assim, Z. B., Omorinoye, O. A., & Asare, E. A.
- Affiliations
- Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (MY)
- University of Ilorin (NG)
- Venue
- Dutse Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences
- Publisher
- African Journals Online (AJOL)
- Published
- 2022-06-25
- Volume
- 8
- Issue
- 2a
- Pages
- 187-196
- ISSN
- 2476-8316 (ISSN-L)
- 2635-3490
- OpenAlex
- W4283709491
- Cited by
- 2
- References
- 23
- Citations by year
- 2025: 1 · 2023: 1
- FWCI
- 0.12
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Locations
- Dutse Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Universiti Malaysia Sarawak
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Pollution › Heavy metals in environment
- Physical Sciences › Chemistry › Analytical Chemistry › Heavy Metals in Plants
- Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Water Science and Technology › Heavy Metal Pollution Remediation
- Keywords
- phytoextraction, copper, lead, heavy metal-contaminated soil, Acalypha wilkesiana, Polyscias fruticosa, metal accumulation in plants, bioaccumulation index, transfer factor, translocation index, phytoremediation
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
A language model drew the claims from the paper on 2026-11-15, under version 3 of the claim definition (model deepseek-v4.1-flash, prompt extract-v3).
A second model labelled each claim on 2026-11-15 (model jev-1.13-20260917, definition revision gold-guideline-v0.2).
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
How to cite
Cite CoChat for the checks on this page, and the paper for its own findings.
- This page
- CoChat. (2026). Citation check: Phytoextraction of copper and lead from spiked soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia). https://app.cochat.ai/papers/10.4314/dujopas.v8i2a.18
- The paper
- Durumin Iya, N. I., Assim, Z. B., Omorinoye, O. A., & Asare, E. A. (2022). Phytoextraction of copper and lead from spiked soil using Acalypha wilkesiana (Copper leaf) and Polyscias fruticosa (Aralia). Dutse Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences. https://doi.org/10.4314/dujopas.v8i2a.18
Data sources
Bibliographic data: Semantic Scholar, OpenAlex, Crossref.
Contains information from the Semantic Scholar Academic Graph Datasets, made available under the ODC Attribution License (ODC-BY 1.0).
Semantic Scholar’s data is described in: Kinney, R., et al. (2023). The Semantic Scholar Open Data Platform. arXiv:2301.10140.
