Abstract
Purpose of the study: The main purpose of this study is to do the comparison of the chemical constituents present in the leaves of Aloe Vera (A. barbadensis Mill) plant grown in different soil combinations using Gas Chromatography- Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) data analysis. Plants were grown in two different combinations of soil, one in normal soil and the other in the combination of normal soil and solid chemical waste obtained from the chemistry laboratory of an educational institute. Methodology: One Aloe Vera (A. barbadensis Mill) plant was grown in normal soil without adding any compost or any fertilizer to the soil. The other plant was grown in soil, which was combined with the solid chemical waste collected from the chemistry laboratory. After observing the morphological characters of the plants, plants were studied for the chemical constituents present in them by using GC-MS data analysis technique. Main Findings: Growth of plants depends on the soil composition, physical characters and the surrounding environment. How the variation in chemical composition of soil affects the chemical constituents of plant leaves, has been discussed in this paper. According to morphological characters the Aloe Vera (A. barbadensis Mill) plant grown with soil combined with solid chemical waste has shown better results compared with the one grown in normal soil. GC-MS results also indicated variation in the chemical constitution of plant leaves taken for the research experiment. Applications of this study: This study has helped to understand that the soil environment and soil nutrients are largely responsible for the changes in chemical constituents of plants. This study can be applied to the other plants as well. Novelty/Originality of this study: In place of fertilizers, solid chemical waste from the laboratory was used for the research purpose. The method is useful and if implemented on a large scale, will help to curb pollution caused by educational institutes to some extent. This kind of research is not done previously by any other researcher.