The Effect of Expired Ibuprofen On Alugbati (Basella Alba Linn.) BASED ON PLANT HEALTH
The Effect of Expired Ibuprofen On Alugbati (Basella Alba Linn.) BASED ON PLANT HEALTH
May 2019
APPROVAL SHEET
MICHAEL C. GUINITA
Adviser
INTRODUCTION
As technology progresses so does other trades that require the use of technology
which paves the way for modern innovation. One of these innovations is pharmaceutical
medical innovation. It has been rapidly growing all over the country throughout the past
few years. This may be a great achievement to some but it has been a great threat to the
human health and especially to the environment. Without proper medical waste
disposal, this hazardous material has the potential to do harm. They can spread disease,
impact the water supplies like rivers, lakes and wells, and in to the wildlife.
drug used today which is used to relieve symptoms of acute pain, inflammation, and
fever (Rainsford, 2009). The drug is usually part of pharmaceutical waste and is
therefore put in a treatment plant. However, Ibuprofen is not completely removed from
the wastewater treatment plants and may enter the soil thorough irrigation with
reclaimed water (González-Naranjo, Boltes, & Biel, 2013). Due to the pollutant
entering in the soil, Ibuprofen has harmful effects in aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems
(Andini, et al., 2012;Miège et al., 2009). In the study, the researchers will be using
expired ibuprofen. The effect of the ibuprofen when it degrades loses the efficacy of
the drug as it goes past its expiration date. Therefore, expired ibuprofen will be used in
this study as pharmaceutical wastes are not manage properly and according to a recent
statistics from the Senate of the Philippines, states that the generation of wastes in the
Philippines continue to rise as the country develops. The poorest areas have a high
likelihood of waste mismanagement and therefore leave the waste in rivers, esteros, and
other water bodies which will be irrigated to the soil with reclaimed water. In the study,
we will study the effects of ibuprofen by observing and measuring the health of the
in almost all areas in the Philippines most especially in settled areas, hedges and old
cultivated areas. Tropical countries such as Asia, Africa and Malaysia also have
Alugbati plant. Unlike other countries, Philippines only have two seasons which is the
wet season and the dry season and the B. alba is widely cultivated especially on rainy
seasons. In Philippines, B. alba is consumed as food because of its health benefits such
This is where our study comes in with its idea of using Basella alba as a way to
determine whether or not Ibuprofen is truly harmful to the plant if it reaches its expired
date. This may or may not pave the way to a better world where the environment is
1.1 Observe the effect of expired ibuprofen to the height of B. alba; and
1.2 Determine the survivability of B. alba under chemical stress in soil in terms
People who work in the Agricultural industry. This study will help them to be mindful
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People who work in the Pharmaceutical industry. The findings of this study will be a
should be aware of their actions in how they would dispose the medicines and how it
General public. The results will provide adequate knowledge and will also serve as an
eye-opener to the public about the effects of the pharmaceutical wastes in the
environment.
Future researchers. This study will serve as a guide or reference for them in knowing
the effects of expired paracetamol into the environment and quite possible apply this
knowledge on other studies that involve plant health and soil quality.
dosages on Alugbati (Basella alba L.) based on the plant health. The researchers are
given one semester to conduct the experiment and to compile and discuss on the results.
The study will be conducted only within the University of San Carlos - Talamban
Campus (USC-TC) and will utilize the facilities provided by the university. In the study,
the researchers will use the methods which are plant health test and phytotoxicity
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CHAPTER 2
The Alugbati (Basella alba L.) or Malabar spinach belongs to the family of
Basellaceae which is commonly grown as a backyard herb and a vigorous climbing vine
in warm climates. Alugbati is a succulent branched vine which rises to over several
meters in length. The alugbati also features green stems and deep green, fleshy, heart-
shaped leaves (StuartXChange, n.d). These crops are native to tropical Asia, probably
originating from India or Indonesia which implies that this vegetable is popular in
tropical and subtropical areas. The alugbati is a fast growing crop and can tolerate
market product that is quite popular as an ingredient for stew and is often used as a
substitute for spinach. It is very low in calories and fats to the point that 100 grams of
raw leaves results to just 19 calories (Basella (Malabar spinach) nutrition facts and
health benefits, n.d.). It is an excellent source of vitamin A, B, and C and is also a good
source of calcium and iron (StuartXChange, n.d). Another fact about alugbati is that it
is not only used in making delicious looking foods but can also be used as a dye for
coloring textiles and food preparations while the dye extract can also be used as an acid
required for maintaining a healthy mucus membrane and has also been known to offer
protection against lung and oral cavity cancers. Alugbati is commonly known to have
more vitamin C content which is a powerful antioxidant that helps the human body
develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful oxygen-free radicals.
It is excellent source of iron that is required by the human body for the red blood cells
(RBC’s) production. It contains a good amount of many B-complex vitamins such as
body from cardiovascular diseases and cancers of the colon (Basella (Malabar spinach)
nutrition facts and health benefits, n.d.). It is believed that Alugbati fights oxidative
stress, supports eye health, improves digestion, and it keeps the brain in perfect
condition (Picincu, 2018). Alugbati is not only known for nutritional uses but is also
used to make a natural food colorant while the fruit is commonly used by women as
2.2 Ibuprofen
antiplatelet effect. In the year 1961, Stewart Adams discovered that ibuprofen was
universally used as an anti-inflammatory drug. Its main purpose is to relieved and ease
symptoms of arthritis, fever, menstrual cramps and other body pain. Its purpose is to
pain and that was also released by the brain and which causes fever and other substances
that the body releases in response to the injuries and illness. The World Health
Organization (WHO) integrates ibuprofen in the list of the minimum medical needs for
basic healthcare system known as “Essential Drugs List.” People who are sensitive to
aspirin or New South Wales (NSW) people who have or had peptic ulcer and people
who have severe heart failure are not advised to take ibuprofen because it might caused
them harm. Taking medicine oftenly have side effects to the body and by in taking
ibuprofen this are the possible effects that you might have: diarrhea, nausea, vomiting,
dyspepsia and pain in the stomach. The United States (U.S) Food and Drug
Administration (FDA) warned that some people might be allergic to some of the
5
ingredients of ibuprofen and might experience rashes, facial swelling and asthma. The
ecotoxicological effects to the non-target species has received much less attention
compared to other chemicals such as pesticides and heavy metals (Daughton, and
Ternes 1999, Cleuvers, 2004, Ali and Al-Qahtani, 2012). According to General Practice
Notebook, it says that ibuprofen is considered the mildest NSAID since it has the fewest
side effects and clinical used for a long time. Ibuprofen is not totally removed in
wastewater treatment plants and it may invade the soil by irrigation with reclaimed
water. Ibuprofen has a polar which is carboxyl (COOH) function group, but has the
non-polar alkyl groups and benzene ring which significantly lessens its polarity.
ethanol, methanol, and the like. The fact that ibuprofen is not soluble in water makes it
harmful to the environment since a lot of pharmaceutical wastes are being thrown in
the water nowadays and which leads to the bigger problem of polluted land and water.
Pharmaceutical Industry are successful nowadays but not in terms of disposing their
wastes since not all medicines are soluble in water and needs a proper process on how
Pharmaceutical wastes is not one single waste stream, but many distinct waste
streams that reflect the complexity and diversity of the chemicals that comprise
pharmaceuticals (HERC, 2006). It is the waste from drugs that are either unused drugs,
expired drugs or contaminated drugs that are no longer needed and are required to be
disposed of. On the other hand unused pharmaceuticals are either discharged to landfill,
put into septic tanks, tossed down the sink or dampened with reclaimed water. Although
hazardous pharmaceutical waste is governed by the strictest set of regulations under the
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Resource Conservation and Recovery Act which states that any pharmaceutical waste
that is deemed hazardous must be handled just like any other hazardous waste you may
have, there are still several pharmaceutical waste areas that are considered hazardous
but are unknown to the government which causes unexpected contamination to the
environment (PEGEX, N.d). Because of this numerous individuals wrongly accept how
wastewater is handled and decide to focus on the treatment of plants and how these can
expel pharmaceutical waste from the wastewater; in any case, innovation around there
the wastewater is presented to, traditional wastewater treatment plants essentially can't
expel all hints of pharmaceuticals from our conduits and water sources. Based on
evaluations from pharmacies, 60% to 80% of those disposed drugs are the result of
either being flushed down the toilet or disposed with normal household waste (Heeke
varieties within the amplitude and timing of the seasonal cycle of atmospheric CO2
which have showed an affiliation with surface air temperature consistent with the theory
that hotter temperatures have advanced plant development amid summer and plant
respiration amid winter within the northern high latitudes (R.B. Myneni, C.D. Keeling,
C.J. Tucker, G. Asrar, R.R. Nemani, 1997). Plant development is constrained on one
hand by the factors present in the limiting of quantities and on other by the adversity
that they can endure, very often by factors present in excess. Extraordinary situations
put plants growing in them under different forms of physiological or biochemical stress,
and it is obvious that plants living in extraordinary situations must be able to endure the
physiological stresses imposed, and that selection pressures must be high (S,J,
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Wainwright, 1981). Global change is considered a major event that will affect plant
health at the genetic, individual, population and landscape level with direct and indirect
effects that include ecosystem stress due to the shortage of natural resources as well as
8
CHAPTER 3
an non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), that is expired for 4 years since 2015
and is procured through one of the researcher’s old medical cabinet. The alugbati
(Basella alba L.) was acquired at the garden located in Talamban, Cebu City. The
gardening pot that was bought and the soil that was used in the experiment which is an
In the preparation of this study, the Alugbati (Basella alba L.) which was the
subject of the study was transferred to a designated place where the researchers
conducted the tests. Afterwards, the Alugbati was placed in each of their respective pots
with uniform sizes and the same amount of soil which is marked by an indicator on the
pot. The 600mg expired ibuprofen is then pulverized into a fine powder and is weighted
by a digital weighing scale to 6g. Then the pulverized expired ibuprofen was mixed
meticulously together with the garden soil. In adding the pulverized expired ibuprofen,
each pot is given an equal amount of ibuprofen powder of 6g. There were three pots
allotted for the plant with pulverized expired ibuprofen and three pots for our control.
The plants were watered daily, twice a day, 6 in the morning and 6 in the evening which
will continue until a month of experimentation. The plant was protected from all the
In this test, we measured, monitored, and recorded the growth of Basella alba
from its original state and its state after in the span of a week. From the tip to the base
of the plant it was measured by using a standard 12” ruler. This process was done in
three trials so as to give authenticity and reliability to the experiment. The results was
used to compute for the mean and standard deviation of the outcome. The
experimentation is finished when there are visible signs of degradation or death on the
specimen until the allotted time of experimentation which is one month will then the
experimentation end.
Each of the samples was placed in their respective pots and is planted on the
soil incorporated with 6g ibuprofen powder. Proper handling and storage of the
phytotoxic material and was necessary in determining the purity and stability of the test
samples. After two to three weeks, monitoring and observation of the test samples was
delivery of the expired paracetamol to the plant or as the plant continues to develop.
The signs that we will be able to identified to be phytotoxic to the specimen was based
on the table below. In the experimentation, we observed the color of the plant itself and
the number of leaves it had after the allotted 1 month of experimentation as well as prior
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Table 1. Examples of Phytotoxic Signs
PHYTOTOXIC SIGNS DESCRIPTION
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CHAPTER 4
Table 3. Number of leaves present on the specimens after experimentation Commented [MG1]: Where is the table?
After the experimentation, the potted specimens were taken out of their
respective pots to be measured for the plant growth test in order to observe its effects
on the specimen. As shown in Table 2. , the plant which was applied with expired
ibuprofen has reached surprising levels in terms of height seeing as the normal growth
rate of Basella alba only developed to about 8-9 inches at most. This indicated that it
could possibly lead to the decreased cultivation of the Basella alba which could affect
its fruit production. After the plant underwent a boost to its growth, it suddenly withered
away and although it was not shown, the lateral growth of the plant decreased. This
gave us reason to assume that as the plant’s lateral growth decreases so does its life
force. This may be due to it not having enough nutrients or water to sustain it which
results in an early death. On another note, Table 3 portrays the number of leaves
produced by the plant applied with ibuprofen which clearly shows how harmful
ibuprofen is to a plant. This variable acted as an indicator for the phytotoxic signs
presented after experimentation and sees if the drug does have any effect on the
specimen’s survivability. By observing the table above clearly, we can surmise that it
may be possible to reduce the growth of Basella alba or cause it to wither which can be
considered as a huge detriment to the plant. Commented [MG2]: Where are the captions? What do
the blue and red bars represent?
In gathering data for signs of phytotoxicity, the specimens were laid down and Commented [MG3]: What is the figure number for this
one?
are compared to one another.
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CHAPTER 5
5.1 Summary
objective, the researchers were able to identify the factors that affects plant health and
in turn applied the knowledge gained to secure the environmental safety, measures and
procedures. The specimen used in the study was Alugbati (Basella alba L.) which was
potted in agricultural soil incorporated with powdered ibuprofen. The specimen was
measured by its height and the number leaves present in the alugbati.
The results of the experiment were then interpreted and treated through a single
factor ANOVA test. The findings in the experiment showed that of the three variables,
the expired ibuprofen made the most significant impact on the specimen. The expired
ibuprofen also showed an increase in apical growth than the other variable but also
showed decreased lateral growth and resulted in the death of the specimen. The data
presented answers to the statement of the problem and its objectives which is to
5.2 Conclusions
The study illustrates the effects of expired ibuprofen and not expired ibuprofen
towards the plant health of the Alugbati in terms of plant growth and phytotoxicity.
Although the chlorophyll was not tested/ experimented on, the results were still ideal
so we decided to disregard it. After careful observation, we have deduced that expired
ibuprofen is indeed harmful to the plant. Though it gives a temporary boost to its apical
growth, the lateral growth is reduced which in turn leads to the death of the plant. This
is due to the fact that it does not possess enough strength to absorb the nutrients or
sunlight around it. Thus we conclude that without further research done on the study, it
5.3 Recommendations
Below stated are the following recommendations offered to help the future
plant.
4. We recommend the future researchers to weigh the soil that they will be using
in the experiment.
5. We recommend the future researchers to use another soil aside from the one
the Ibuprofen.
15
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APPENDICES
Appendix-A: Letter for consent with regards to laboratory use.
Noted by:
19
Appendix-B: Budget Chart
Spray Bottles 1 40
Pot 12 300
Alugbati 12 pcs. 60
TOTAL 2,820
20
Appendix-D: Documentations
A. MATERIALS
B. RESULTS
Alugbati mixed with expired Ibuprofen
Control Variable
Alugbati mixed with Not-expired Ibuprofen
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CURRICULUM VITAE
PERSONAL PROFILE
Name: JEFFERSON CHARLES A. ARSENAL Age: 18
Gender: Male Status: Single
Date of Birth: December 18, 2000 Place of Birth: Federated
States of Micronesia
Current Address: Blk. 31 no. 8, Tupaz Street, Poblacion, Danao City, Cebu
EDUCATION
Grade School:
Precious Jewel Child Development Center
Suba, Danao City, Cebu
2006-2013
Secondary Education:
San Roque College de Cebu
Yati, Lilo-an, Cebu
2013-2017
Senior High School:
University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
2017-2019
22
Gale Marie M. Cañete
Contact No. 09562944774
Email Address:[email protected]
Senior High School Student in the University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
PERSONAL PROFILE
Name: GALE MARIE M. CAÑETE Age: 18
Gender: Female Status: Single
Date of Birth: September 21, 2000 Place of Birth: Bantayan
Island
Current Address: Canduman, Mandaue City
EDUCATION
Grade School:
Silvino Y. Du. Sr. Memorial School Inc.
Bantigue, Bantayan, Cebu
2007-2013
Secondary Education:
Saint Paul Academy
Suba, Bantayan, Cebu
2013-2017
Senior High School:
University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
2017-2019
23
Ma. Shaina Trina M. Limalima
Contact No. 09397407306
Email Address: [email protected]
Senior High School Student in the University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
PERSONAL PROFILE
Name: MA. SHAINA TRINA M. LIMALIMA Age: 18
Gender: Female Status: Single
Date of Birth: July 02, 2000 Place of Birth: Cebu City
Current Address: Orel, Banilad, Mandaue City
EDUCATION
Grade School:
Subangdaku Elementary School
597 Lopez Jaena St, Mandaue City, 6014 Cebu
2007-2013
Secondary Education:
Saint Louis College-Cebu
Sudlon, Maguikay, Mandaue City
2013-2017
Senior High School:
University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
2017-2019
24
Raphael Jireh T. Palma
Contact No. 09084880605
Email Address: [email protected]
Senior High School Student in the University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
PERSONAL PROFILE
EDUCATION
Grade School:
Ozamiz City SDA Elementary School
Bernad Avenue, Ozamiz City
2006-2013
Secondary Education:
La Salle University - Integrated School
Valconcha Str., Brgy. Aguada, Ozamiz City
2013-2017
Senior High School:
University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
2017-2019
25
Adrianne Aubrey Gayle R. Raden
Contact No. 09661626881
Email Address: [email protected]
Senior High School Student in the University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
PERSONAL PROFILE
Name: ADRIANNE AUBREY GAYLE R. RADEN Age: 18
Gender: Female Status: Single
Date of Birth: January 26, 2001 Place of Birth: Cebu City
Current Address: Haniyyah Homes Block 8 Lot 44 Phase 2, Maya st. Babag 1, Lapu-
Lapu City
EDUCATION
Grade School:
St. Alphonsus Catholic School
Dimataga Rd., Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City,
2006-2013
Secondary Education:
St. Alphonsus Catholic School
Dimataga Rd., Poblacion, Lapu-Lapu City,
2013-2017
Senior High School:
University of San Carlos (North Campus)
General Maxilom Avenue, Camputhaw, Cebu City, 6000 Cebu
2017-2019
26