Assumptions on Health Risks in Consuming Vermonia amygdalina and Fruits (Musa sp.) in Koko, Nigeria

The unified potential of plants to absorb nutrients from soil, air, and water, including their natural surrounding habitat, makes them efficient in translocating nutrients and absorbing pollutants to the leaves, fruits, and other edible parts. Composite soil and two plants, Vermonia amygdalina and Musa sp., were selected from two areas (area 1 and area 2), respectively, in Koko, Nigeria. Both samples were analyzed using an atomic absorption spectrophotometer, gas chromatography, and a soxhlet extractor for heavy metals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and dioxins, respectively. Techniques applied were arithmetic mean, contamination factor, potential ecological risk index, and toxicity equivalence. Results revealed high mean concentrations of cadmium for plants in Area 1 (5.9022 mg/kg) and Area 2 (5.0172 mg/kg), respectively. The contamination factor showed a higher value in plants for cadmium in area 1 (5.9022 mg/kg) than in area 2 (5.017 mg/kg). The same was observed in the ecological risk index, as cadmium was concentrated more in plants (1.1612 mg/kg) in area 1 than (0.84 mg/kg) in area 2. PCBs recorded a high amount of mean in plants (14.095 ppb) for area 1 and 14.91 ppb in plants for area 2. The contamination factor in PCBs was the same in both areas, with area 1 recording 1409.5 ppb in plants and area 2 recording 1491 ppb in soil. The ecological risk index for plants was 496.7 ppb in plants for area 1 and 555.8 ppb in soil for area 2. Toxicity in dioxins exceeded the World Health Organization maximum limits, with Polychlorinated dibenzo-para-dioxins having the highest toxicity of 42.88 ppb in V. amygdalina and 9.69 ppb in Musa sp. Anthropogenic sources of pollutants such as shipping, oil transportation, power plant facilities, bitumen production, and lubricants remain key driving stressors that contribute to the destruction of plant ecology in Koko. The knowledge of the compounds constituting the make-up of these products in both plants reflects the health risks and hazards in the town. Hence, awareness and ecological monitoring of the area need a continuous program to minimize health hazards in Koko.