Health assessment of medicinal herbs, celery and parsley related to cadmium soil pollution-potentially toxic elements (PTEs) accumulation, tolerance capacity and antioxidative response.

Celery and parsley are recognized as medicinal herbs and nutraceutical vegetables due to their valuable pharmacological properties and numerous health benefits. However, in recent years, soil loadings with various PTEs have become a serious concern across the world, leading to plants pollution, which can consequently diminish their quality and safety for human consumption. Therefore, we attempted to quantify quality and safety of celery and parsley grown in Cd polluted soil. We examined the presence of PTEs: As, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cu and Cd in soil and selected herbs, as well as their physiological responses to different Cd exposures (control-without Cd addition, 3 and 6 µg/g Cd of dry soil). Following elevation of Cd in plants, both species showed increasing trend of As, Pb and Cu in plants, which overcome safe limits, with exception for Cu. Further, celery showed strong phytoextraction ability (99.9 µg/g Cd of dry weight) with high potential to tolerate Cd due to the efficient antioxidative machinery. Besides that herbs pollution was evident on the basis of target hazard quotients (HQ), hazard index (HI) and cancerogenic risk (CR), revealing that chronic consumption of contaminated herbs can consequently endanger human health. HI was greater than 1, while CR exceeded safe limits in treated plants, with exception for As. In the point of view of toxicology and food safety, growing of medicinal plants should be strictly regulated and distinguished based on the purpose of growing, and further herbs usage.

Bioactive compounds and health benefits of edible Rumex species-A review.

Medicinal and food plants as well as their bioactive fractions have been used by diverse human cultures since ancient times. These plants provide multiple health benefits because of the presence of a plethora of phytochemicals including phenylpropanoids, isoprenoids, alkaloids, sulphated compounds, peptides and polysaccharides that are responsible for various biological activities such as anticancer, antioxidant, antifungal, antibacterial, anti-dysenteric, anti-inflammatory, antiulcer, anti-hypertensive and anticoagulant properties. The genus Rumex includes edible and medicinal herbs belonging to buckwheat (Polygonaceae) family, consisting of about 200 species rich in phenylpropanoids and anthraquinones. Some Rumex species have exhibited health-promoting effects and have been used as traditional foods and herbal remedies, though a limited information has been documented on their specific biological properties. Therefore, this survey aimed at reviewing the Rumex species with documented biological activity, focusing on preclinical evidences on their efficacy and safety.

Drought Impact Is Alleviated in Sugar Beets (Beta vulgaris L.) by Foliar Application of Fullerenol Nanoparticles.

Over the past few years, significant efforts have been made to decrease the effects of drought stress on plant productivity and quality. We propose that fullerenol nanoparticles (FNPs, molecular formula C60(OH)24) may help alleviate drought stress by serving as an additional intercellular water supply. Specifically, FNPs are able to penetrate plant leaf and root tissues, where they bind water in various cell compartments. This hydroscopic activity suggests that FNPs could be beneficial in plants. The aim of the present study was to analyse the influence of FNPs on sugar beet plants exposed to drought stress. Our results indicate that intracellular water metabolism can be modified by foliar application of FNPs in drought exposed plants. Drought stress induced a significant increase in the compatible osmolyte proline in both the leaves and roots of control plants, but not in FNP treated plants. These results indicate that FNPs could act as intracellular binders of water, creating an additional water reserve, and enabling adaptation to drought stress. Moreover, analysis of plant antioxidant enzyme activities (CAT, APx and GPx), MDA and GSH content indicate that fullerenol foliar application could have some beneficial effect on alleviating oxidative effects of drought stress, depending on the concentration of nanoparticles applied. Although further studies are necessary to elucidate the biochemical impact of FNPs on plants; the present results could directly impact agricultural practice, where available water supplies are often a limiting factor in plant bioproductivity.

Hydroponic screening of black locust families for heavy metal tolerance and accumulation.

Present work examines phytoextraction potential of four black locust families (half-sibs 54, 56, 115, and 135) grown hydroponically. Plants were treated with 6 ppm of cadmium (Cd), 100 ppm of nickel (Ni), and 40 ppm of lead (Pb) added in Hoagland nutrient solution, accompanying with simultaneously applied all three metals. Responses to metals exposure among families were different, ranging from severe to slight reduction of root and shoot biomass production of treated plants. Calculated tolerance indices are indicating tested families as highly tolerant (Ti > 60). Family 135 had the lowest tolerance index, pointing that it was highly susceptible to applied metals. Comparing photosynthetic activities of tested families it has been noticed that they were highly sensitive to stress induced by heavy metals. Net photosynthetic rate of nickel treated plants was the most affected by applied concentration. Cadmium and nickel concentrations in stems and leaves of black locust families exceeded 100 mg Cd kg(-1) and 1000 mg Ni kg(-1), in both single and multipollution context. On the contrary, accumulation of lead in above ground biomass was highly affected by multipollution treatment. Tf and BCF significantly varied between investigated treatments and families of black locust. Concerning obtained results of heavy metals accumulation and tolerance of black locust families can be concluded that tested families might be a promising tool for phytoextraction purposes, but it takes to be further confirmed in field trials.