Review of Edible Plants in Dumpsites: Risks of Heavy Metals Toxicity and Implications for Public Health

Studies of dumpsites have revealed that the surrounding soils and water are contaminated with high
threshold of heavy metals through anthropogenic inputs. In this review, the uptake and toxicity risks of
these heavy metals by habitual edible plants at levels above threshold limit and the implications for
public health have been discussed. Edible plants are plants with nutritional and medicinal potentials
which can salvage numerous human and animal needs when taken. Edible plants like most other
underutilized plants in dumpsites have developed mechanisms which enable them to not only survive
but accumulate high level of toxic heavy metals due to high level of environmental metal load in the
dumpsites. This ultimately could lead to high human and animal exposure to these toxic elements
through food-chain/food-web or direct ingestion of soils. The toxic effects caused by excess
concentrations of these heavy metals in living organisms vary considerably and present numerous
clinical situations ranging from neurological disorder, cellular damage among others and death in
extreme cases. This review suggest the urgent need for policy makers to regulate the use of
dumpsites for arable farming and the dependence on edible plants in dumpsites to avert heavy metal
poisoning in populations.