1. Elemental composition of vegetables cultivated over coal-mining waste
- Author
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Paula Rohr, Vanessa Moraes de Andrade, Caroline Magagnin Zocche, Gabriela D. Borges, Jairo José Zocche, Johnny Ferraz Dias, Daniela Dimer Leffa, Miriam da Conceição Martins, Carla Eliete Iochims dos Santos, Maiélen Machado de Jesus, Adriani Paganini Damiani, and Karina de Oliveira Teixeira
- Subjects
trace elements ,Food Contamination ,Lactuca ,010501 environmental sciences ,Waste Disposal, Fluid ,01 natural sciences ,Carvão ,anthropogenic soil ,Mice ,Vegetables ,Animals ,Soil Pollutants ,PIXE ,Coal ,lcsh:Science ,heavy metals ,0105 earth and related environmental sciences ,Elemental composition ,Multidisciplinary ,Sewage ,biology ,Poluição ambiental ,plants ,Chemistry ,business.industry ,Metais pesados ,Coal mining ,food and beverages ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,Emissão de raios-x induzida por partículas ,biology.organism_classification ,Coal Mining ,Horticulture ,Liver ,Agronomy ,040103 agronomy & agriculture ,Organic farming ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,Brassica oleracea ,lcsh:Q ,Coal waste ,business ,Waste disposal - Abstract
We assessed elemental composition of the liver in mice subjected to one-time or chronic consumption of the juice of vegetables cultivated in a vegetable garden built over deposits of coal waste. Lactuca sativa L. (lettuce), Beta vulgaris L. (beet), Brassica oleracea L. var. italica (broccoli) and Brassica oleracea L. var. acephala (kale) were collected from the coal-mining area and from a certified organic farm (control). Elemental composition was analyzed by particle-induced X-ray emission (PIXE) method. Concentrations of Mg, S, and Ca of mice subjected to one-time consumption of broccoli and concentrations of these same elements plus Si of mice receiving kale were higher in the coal-mining area. Concentrations of P, K, and Cu were increase after chronic consumption of lettuce from the coal-mining area, whereas the levels of Si, P, K, Fe, and Zn were higher in the group consuming kale from the coal-mining area. Our data suggests that people consuming vegetables grown over coal wastes may ingest significant amounts of chemical elements that pose a risk to health, since these plants contain both essential and toxic metals in a wide range of concentrations, which can do more harm than good.
- Published
- 2017