Bioremediation of the Crude Oil Contamination of Soil by the Indigenous, Herbaceous Plant Salicorniaeuropea in Iran

Background: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (pahs) are the most important environmental contaminants all over the world where wide studies have been conducted on their hazards on environment and living organisms, especially human. objectives: the aim of this study was to investigate the quantitative uptake of phenanthrene’s (as one of the most important pahs in crude oil) by salicorniaeuropea and also the effectiveness of crude oil content on normal condition of this plant especially at various concentrations. materials and methods: salicornia plantlets were taken from eshtehard plant bank which is located in karaj, alborz, iran. they were transplanted and exposed to various t concentrations of crude oil (4.5-16-27.5-32-36.5 g/kg soil). spectrophotometery and gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy methods were used to determine and identify the phenanthrene uptake in roots and stalks, also the plants’ appearance were checked out. results: the highest uptake was at eight mg crude oil, per 1 g of soil and the least uptake was at 13.75 mg crude oil, per 1 g of soil. it seems that physical characteristics of crude oil are the main reasons of damages to plant tissue. conclusions: concerning the ability of salicorniaeuropea to survive in the contaminated areas, it might be suitable that endemic types of this plant would be cultivated in contaminated coast lines.