Selected Metal Concentrations in Some Medical Herbs from Localities Around Mount Bjelasica

The use of wild herbs to relieve and treat many human diseases is increasing worldwide, due to their medicinal features and limited side effects. The content of metals in them is of great interest. Our objective was to determine the levels of Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, and Zn in individual parts of four medicinal plant species (Achillea millefolium L., Origanum vulgare L., Thymus serpyllum L., and Hypericum perforatum L.) and their native soil. For the study, we selected four sites located at the foot of Mount Bjelasica in Montenegro. Microwave-assisted digestion was applied for the dissolution of the samples and the metal concentrations were determined using atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). All the investigated metals are most concentrated in the roots of the tested herbs. The translocation of metal from the root to the aboveground parts is different and depends on the metal and the plant. All the tested plants contain the most Fe (except oregano) and the least Ni. The most significant levels of Zn (44.6–116 mg kg–1), Ni (0.10–26.3 mg kg–1) and Mn (28.4–329 mg kg–1) were found in O. vulgare, the largest concentration of Cu (20.6–85.4 mg kg–1) in H. perforatum and Fe (108–1324 mg kg–1) showed its largest value in T. serpyllum. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

Arsenic removal from water using low-cost adsorbents: A comparative study

Inorganic arsenic removal from water using low-cost adsorbents is presented in this paper. Selective removal of As(III) and As(V) from water was performed with natural materials (zeolite, bentonite, sepiolite, pyrolusite and limonite) and industrial by-products (waste filter sand as a water treatment residual and blast furnace slag from steel production); all inexpensive and locally available. Kinetic and equilibrium studies were realized using batch system techniques under conditions that are likely to occur in real water treatment systems. The natural zeolite and the industrial by-products were found to be good and inexpensive sorbents for arsenic while bentonite and sepiolite clays showed little affinity towards arsenic. The highest maximum sorption capacities were obtained for natural zeolite, 4.07 mg As(V) g-1, and waste iron slag, 4.04 mg As(V) g-1

Element accumulation capacity of Vaccinium myrtillus from Montenegro: Comparison of element contents in water and ethanol extracts of bilberry plant parts

Bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L., Ericaceae) is a rich source of different mineral elements that are important as essential trace elements, or that can be potentially toxic, depending on their concentration. The contents of sixteen elements: the major (Al, Ca, Fe, K and Mg) and trace elements (As, Ba, Cd, Co, Cu, Cr, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sr and Zn) in roots, stems, leaves and fruits of bilberry and the corresponding soil substrate were determined in order to investigate element mobility and availability in soil. Soil was subjected to sequential extraction procedure as proposed by the Community Bureau of Reference in order to fractionate acid-soluble/exchangeable, reducible, oxidizable and residual fractions. Analysis of water and ethanol extracts of bilberry aerial parts revealed a significant transfer of elements during the extraction procedure, with corresponding extraction coefficient values of up to 95.12%. Results showed that bilberry fruits could serve as a good dietary source of essential elements for humans, especially Mn and Cu.Supplementary data: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3057

Supplementary data for article: Vukanović, S. B.; Tadić, V. M.; Blagojević, N.; Pešić, V. V.; Durdić, S.; Stanković, M.; Mutić, J. Element Accumulation Capacity of Vaccinium Myrtillus from Montenegro: Comparison of Element Contents in Water and Ethanol Extracts of Bilberry Plant Parts. Archives of Biological Sciences 2019, 71 (1), 145–157. https://doi.org/10.2298/ABS181004056B

Related to published version: [http://cherry.chem.bg.ac.rs/handle/123456789/3055

Pregled savremenih metoda za uklanjanje arsena iz vode

Inorganic arsenic removal from water using low-cost adsorbents is presented in this paper. Selective removal of As(III) and As(V) from water was performed with natural materials (zeolite, bentonite, sepiolite, pyrolusite and limonite) and industrial by-products (waste filter sand as a water treatment residual and blast furnace slag from steel production); all inexpensive and locally available. Kinetic and equilibrium studies were realized using batch system techniques under conditions that are likely to occur in real water treatment systems. The natural zeolite and the industrial by-products were found to be good and inexpensive sorbents for arsenic while bentonite and sepiolite clays showed little affinity towards arsenic. The highest maximum sorption capacities were obtained for natural zeolite, 4.07 mg As(V) g-1, and waste iron slag, 4.04 mg As(V) g-1.U ovom radu su prikazani rezultati ispitivanja efikasnosti prirodnih i otpadnih materijala za uklanjanje arsena iz vode. Efikasnost uklanjanja arsena, As(III,V) ispitana je u šaržnom sistemu. Kao sorbenti korišćeni su prirodni materijali (zeolit, bentonit, sepiolit, piroluzit i limonit) i otpadni materijali (otpadni filtarski pesak sa postrojenja za prečišćavanje voda i otpadna šljaka iz proizvodnje čelika). Ispitivanja su pokazala da otpadni materijali mogu efikasno ukloniti i As(III) i As(V) iz vode, ali da se efikasnost razlikuje i zavisi od valentnog stanja arsena, početne koncentracije i pH vrednosti vode. Eksperimenti na osnovu kojih su dobijene krive kinetike sorpcije i sorpcione izoterme su rađeni u uslovima kakvi vladaju u realnim sistemima za prečišćavanje vode. Prirodni zeolit o otpadni materijali su se pokazali kao relativno dobri materijali za uklanjanje arsena iz vode dok su bentonit, sepiolit, limonit i piroluzit pokazali slab afinitet prema arsenu. Najveći maksimalni sorpcioni kapacitet su pokazali prirodni zeolit (4,07 mgAs(V) g-1), i otpadna šljaka (4,04 mgAs(V) g-1)

Toxic Elements and Mineral Content of Different Tissues of Endemic Edible Snails (Helix vladika and H. secernenda) of Montenegro

The objective of the present study is to determine the differences between the mineral content of various organs of Helix vladika and H. secernenda, the two most abundant edible snail species in Montenegro. The bioaccumulation of 12 examined elements (zinc, manganese, copper, aluminum, cadmium, lead, nickel, iron, chromium, lithium, selenium and mercury) was determined in the hepatopancreas, albumen gland, digestive tract, reproductive system, mantle, foot and shell from three sampling sites (Biogradska Gora, Nikšić and Malesija). The examined populations of H. vladika and H. secernenda showed a significant difference in their lithium and selenium contents. The levels of the most examined metals (Zn, Mn, Cu, Al, Cd, Pb, Se and Hg) varied significantly among organs. The digestive tract and hepatopancreas tend to bioaccumulate selenium and cadmium. The general mean concentration of cadmium in the examined snail tissues exceeded the maximum allowable level at the Biogradska Gora and Malesija sites. Therefore, the use of the Montenegrin edible snails collected from the wilderness for human consumption seems to be limited by their higher bioaccumulation capacity for toxic elements such as cadmium