Heavy Metals Accumulation by Aromatic Plant Salvia Officinalis Irrigated with Treated Wastewater

The use of wastewater for the irrigation of plants will contribute to the beneficial factors of plant growth, but it can damage human health because of the high concentration of toxic elements. The main goal of this research is to assess the concentration of some toxic heavy metals in the Salvia Officinalis plants after their harvest, which is irrigated with treated wastewater. Salvia Officinalis plants leaves are used in culinary and medicine. Sage plants are cultivated in an experiment using pots, in the greenhouse for 180 days. Treatments aim to assess a number of elements (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn), that are accumulated in plants irrigated with treated and untreated sewage waters. The concentration of these heavy metals in both treated and untreated sewage waters are below the maximum permissible level in irrigation waters set by the World Health Organization (WHO). The development of plants and the content of heavy metal in their tissues are estimated. The results show that heavy metals content varied from spot to spot, plant to plant, and also in different parts of each plant. This study confirms that domestic sewage can effectively increase water resources for irrigation but the need for continuous monitoring of the concentration of toxic elements in soil, plants, and water, still exists. It is required that plants should be checked for contaminant before processing them for pharmaceutical purposes or for human consumption.Keywords: Treated Wastewater, Irrigation, Heavy Metals, Salvia Officinalis.

Who is the better candidate? Macroinvertebrates and diatoms for ecological status assessment of Sava Lake (Serbia)

Sava Lake was created from the right arm of the Sava River, and the inhabitants of Belgrade use the lake intensively for swimming and bathing. We analysed macrozoobenthos and epilithic diatom communities at six sites from April to October 2017, to assess the ecological status of Sava Lake according to the National legislation of Serbia. Considering macrozoobenthos communities, the mean values of Zelinka and Marvan saprobity index indicated high ecological status. In contrast, results obtained from the mean values of BMWP (Biological Monitoring Working Party) scores suggested moderate to poor ecological status. The mean values of the IPS diatom index (Indice de Polluo-sensibilité) indicated high ecological status, while the TDIL index (Trophic Diatom Index for lakes) was slightly more sensitive and indicated good ecological status. Water chemical parameters indicated that Sava Lake was mainly oligotrophic during the study period (average total phosphorus concentrations were 10.7 μgL-1 and average total nitrogen concentrations 410 μgL-1). Before being able to adopt an integrative approach for ecological status assessment (combining two or more biological quality elements), more studies must be performed on how to choose the most sensitive and adequate indices. This is especially true for lakes experiencing intensive anthropogenic pressure during the summer season. Also, the boundary values in the National legislation of Serbia must be adapted for lakes, such as Sava Lake.11th Symposium for European Freshwater Sciences, June 30–July 5, 2019, Zagreb, Croatia, [http://www.sefs11.biol.pmf.hr/

Influence of flavonoids’ lipophilicity on platelet aggregation

Flavonoids are natural polyphenolic compounds present in a wide spectrum of plants that have a beneficial effect on human health. In the context of cardiovascular diseases related to plaque and thrombus formation, flavonoids exhibit an antiaggregatory effect. Previously, it has been reported that all tested flavonoids exhibit an antiaggregatory effect on platelet aggregation when measured by impedance aggregometry on whole blood, in the test of aggregation induced by adenosine diphosphate (ADP). As not all flavonoids have the same targets within signaling pathways, an assumption of a common non-specific mechanism related to lipophilicity is to be considered. To test this hypothesis, reverse-phase thin layer chromatography was used to assess the lipophilicity of flavonoids; impedance aggregometry was used for testing of platelet aggregation and flow cytometry to monitor the influence of flavonoids on platelet activation. Lipophilicity analysis showed a highly negative correlation of logP and MINaAC for groups of flavones and flavanones. As determined by flow cytometry, the exposition of receptors necessary for the promotion of platelet activation and primary clot formation was diminished, i.e., lowered expression of the activated form of integrin αIIbβ3 was observed in the presence of flavanones. Platelet membrane stabilization by flavonoids as a mechanism of antiaggregatory effect has been supported by impedance aggregometry experiments when specific inhibitors of platelet aggregation signaling pathways (U73122, indomethacin, verapamil) were used in the presence of a weak (ADP) and a strong (TRAP-6) agonist of aggregation. While individual flavonoids can have specific targets within aggregation signaling pathways, all flavonoids share a common non-specific mechanism of platelet aggregation inhibition related to their lipophilicity and membrane stabilization that, to some extent, contributes to their antiaggregatory effect

The natural plant colonization of ultramafic post-mining area of Përrenjas, Albania

A post Ferro-nickel mining land management needs to recognize the physical, chemical characteristics of soil and plants that grow naturally by tolerating the levels of heavy metals. The objective of this study were to: i) investigate and evaluate the natural process of plant colonization on abandoned ferro-nickel mining sites located on ultramafic substrate; to ii) understand the relationship between soil properties and species distribution and to iii) assess the potential of hyperaccumulator plants for the soil phytoremediation. This area was divided into five 100 m(2) plots that were representatives of the variability of the site, based on localization, land use and total vegetative cover. For each plot, the physicochemical characteristics of the soils, the inventory of plant species and the accumulation of Ni by all plant taxa were determined. The soils in the ex-mining area of Perrenjas appeared highly polluted by Ni, Co and Cr compared to the natural levels of the surrounding ultramafic soils. The toxic levels of trace metals and the deficiency of organic matter appeared as major constraints for plant colonization. In total, 96 plant species belonging to 26 families in the studied mining sites of Perrenjas were recorded. Several plants show the ability to tolerate and accumulate metals and may be useful for phyto-stabilization. Alyssum murale was the best candidate for Ni phyto-extraction technologies, with concentrations above 1000 mg/kg Ni in plant tissues