Lead and Cadmium Phytoavailability and Human Bioaccessibility for Vegetables Exposed to Soil or Atmospheric Pollution by Process Ultrafine Particles

Abstract

When plants are exposed to airborne particles, they can accumulate metals in their edible portions through root or foliar transfer. There is a lack of knowledge on the influence of plant exposure conditions on human bioaccessibility of metals, which is of particular concern with the increase in urban gardening activities. Lettuce, radish, and parsley were exposed to metal-rich ultrafine particles from a recycling factory via field atmospheric fallouts or polluted soil. Total lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) concentrations in of the edible plant parts and their human bioaccessibility were measured, and Pb translocation through the plants was studied using Pb isotopic analysis. The Pb and Cd bioaccessibility measured for consumed parts of the different polluted plants was significantly higher for root exposure (70% for Pb and 89% for Cd in lettuce) in comparison to foliar exposure (40% for Pb and 69% for Cd in lettuce). The difference in metal bioaccessibility could be linked to the metal compartmentalization and speciation changes in relation to exposure conditions. Metal nature strongly influences the measured bioaccessibility: Cd presents higher bioaccessibility in comparison to Pb. In the case of foliar exposure, a significant translocation of Pb from leaves toward the roots was observed. To conclude, the type of pollutant and the method of exposure significantly influences the phytoavailability and human bioaccessibility of metals, especially in relation to the contrasting phenomena involved in the rhizosphere and phyllosphere. The conditions of plant exposure must therefore be taken into account for environmental and health risk assessment.

Cadmium Bioavailability, Uptake, Toxicity and Detoxification in Soil-Plant System

“…However, recent studies have also reported metal uptake by plants via foliar transfer (Uzu et al 2010;Schreck et al 2012a, b). According to Xiong et al (2014a), foliar uptake of Cd and Pb due to particulate matter deposition is of particular importance near recycling factories.…”

Antimony bioavailability: Knowledge and research perspectives for sustainable agricultures

“…These concentrations cannot only be credited to soil-to-plant transfer. Aerial deposition onto leaves and fruits could explain such results [21,22]. Moreover, with the increasing quantities of ultrafine atmospheric particles in urban and peri-urban areas, foliar plant exposure could sometimes be the main route of plant pollution in aerial organs [23,120].…”

“…The human bioaccessible fraction of a metal(loid) is defined as the fraction extracted by the entire digestive system when it is ingested with polluted soil [158], or polluted vegetables [20,21]. A standardized bioaccessibility test has been developed by the BioAccessibility Research Group of Europe (BARGE): the Unified BARGE Method (UBM) [159].…”

“…Recently, some studies focused on Sb bioaccessibility and ecotoxicity, in relation to soil remediation [159] and Sb bioaccessibility in vegetables, with regard to the context of the pollution (polluted soil or atmosphere) and plant species [20,21]. Gastric Sb bioaccessibility was 14% and 43%…”

Role of metal speciation in lead-induced oxidative stress to Vicia faba roots

“…Lead does not play any known necessary function in living 1 The article is published in the original. metabolism, and is reported to cause a number of toxic effects to metabolic reactions in living organisms [7,8].…”