Vicia faba as a bioindicator of oil pollution

In 1990, the Gulf War caused an unprecedented environmental catastrophe. More than 700 oil wells were set on fire, emitting thousands of tons of oxides of nitrogen, sulfur, soot and oil mist at high temperatures. The blazing oil wells and lakes were the major cause of environmental pollution, damaging flora and fauna throughout Kuwait and the surrounding region. We set up this study in order to investigate whether Vicia faba could be used as a bioindicator of oil pollution. Growth parameters of Vicia faba, such as levels of photosynthetic pigments, proteins, free amino acids, phenols, sugars, biomass, moisture and fatty acids, were studied. Levels of total reducible sugars, phenols, proteins, free amino acids and proline were found to be higher in plants grown in hydrocarbon-polluted soil, compared to those grown in control soil. However, biomass, moisture, pheophytin, the 435/415 nm ratio for chlorophylls and the chlorophyll a/carotenoid ratio, were higher in the plants grown in control soil than those grown in polluted soil. Our results indicate that Vicia faba can be used as a bioindicator of pollution and a ratio of the fatty acid C(20:1)/C(18:1) is an important index of environmental oil pollution.