Effect of crude oil contaminated soil on the activity of alkaline phosphatase in lens culinaris

The oil spillage has always been a source of contamination in the soil affecting the environment، the plant and animal life. The source of the contamination is usually due to faulty extraction of the oil from the earth، refining، processing and finally the transportation. The spillage of the crude oil can penetrate through the soil and get to the underground water and the farming lands and by doing so، damage the animals grass land and humans farming products. Lentil is a widely used crop in human''s diet and so it makes it important to be investigated. In this study، the effect of the contaminated soil on the growth and germination of the lentil and the activity of alkaline phosphatase has been investigated. The results showed that the 5% concentration of oil in the soil delayed and decreased the number of germination and the biomass of the shoots and the roots، also decreasing the normal size of the leaves. Therefore 5% concentration of crude oil in the soil showed it is a suitable dose to study the effect of contamination on the enzyme. The results showed that the activity of the enzyme in the roots of the control was significantly different compared with that of the contaminated ones. Measurement of the enzyme kinetics for the determination of the Vmax and Km also showed a significant difference، suggesting that there may be an alkaline phasphatase isozyme presence in the roots، which is responsible for this difference observed between the contaminated and the control samples.