Identification of Bioindicators for impact assessment in the environment of Mangalore, coastal Karnataka

Mangalore city and nearby areas of the coastal Karnataka are heading to become a region of major industrial activity centre. In view of this detailed studies on radionuclide concentration in terrestrial aquatic and atmospheric environs of the region has been carried out. As part of the program, activities of important radionuclides ²³²Th, ²²⁶Ra and ⁴⁰K in twelve medicinal plants, which are commonly found in the region, were analyzed by gamma spectrometry. Medicinal plants are important for pharmacological research and drug development, not only when plant constituents are used directly as therapeutic agents, but also when they are used as basic materials for the synthesis of drugs. To study transfer of radionuclides from soil to plant, activity in representative soil sample was measured. The uptake of radionuclides within the soil to plant is part of the biochemical cycling. The mobility and availability of radionuclides depend on several factors such as geochemical, biological and climatic conditions