Adebayo, G.B.Okoro, H.K.Balogun, G.A.2019-10-152019-10-152015http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2558The toxic effects and risk assessment of a pharmaceutical effluent collected from a pharmaceutical company in Ilorin, Nigeria have been carried out. In this study, duckweed was used as a test system. Chlorophyll a (chl a), Chlorophyll b (chl b) and Carotenoid (Cx+c) contents were determined. The Total Soluble Protein, peroxidase activity and relative growth rate based on biomass (change in weight of the plants), were investigated as indicators for environmental monitoring. The effluent caused inhibition of relative growth rate based on biomass and the loss of photosynthetic pigment content in duckweed plants following exposure to different concentrations of the effluent (0%, 5%, 10%, 20%, 50% and 100%). Peroxidase activity and total heavy metals absorbed from the effluent by the plant markedly increased as the concentration of the effluent increased, while the total soluble protein decreased as the concentration of the effluent increased. Obtained data demonstrate the relevance of duckweed as useful indicators for monitoring toxic effect of pharmaceutical effluent.enDuckweedbiomassPeroxidase activity (POD)EffluentArticle