title: Ptaquiloside in Pteridium aquilinum subsp. aquilinum and corresponding soils from the South of Italy: influence of physical and chemical features of soils on its occurrence.
abstract: The bracken fern Pteridium aquilinum (L.) Kuhn, one of the most common plant species on Earth, produces a wide range of secondary metabolites including the norsesquiterpene glucoside ptaquiloside (PTA). Several studies are present in literature about eco-toxicological aspects related to PTA, whereas results about the effect of growth conditions and soil properties on the production and mobility of PTA are sometimes conflicting and further investigations are needed. The aim of the present work is to investigate the occurrence and possible fate of PTA in soils showing different physical and chemical features, and collected in several areas of the South of Italy. The PTA content was determined in both soil and fern samples by GC-MS; both the extraction protocol and recovery were previously tested through incubation studies. Soils samples were also characterized from the physical and chemical points of view in order to correlate the possible influence of soil parameters on PTA production and occurrence. PTA concentration in P. aquilinum fern seemed to be significantly affected by the availability of nutrients (mainly P) and soil pH. At the same time, PTA concentration in soil samples was always undetectable, independent of the PTA concentration in the corresponding Pteridium samples and pedo-climatic conditions. This seems to suggest the degradation of the PTA by indigenous soil microbial community, whereas incubation studies underlined a certain affinity of PTA for both organic colloids and clay/silt particles.
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia, via Napoli 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy. Electronic address: claudio.zaccone@unifg.it.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zaccone
authors.affiliation: Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari-CIHEAM, via Ceglie 9, 70010 Valenzano, Italy.
authors.forename: Ivana
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Cavoski
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Chimica e Tecnologie del Farmaco, Università di Roma "La Sapienza", p.le Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Roberta
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Costi
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, via Ospedale 72, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Giorgia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Sarais
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, via Ospedale 72, 09124 Cagliari, Italy.
authors.forename: Pierluigi
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Caboni
authors.affiliation: Department of the Sciences of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Foggia, via Napoli 25, 71122 Foggia, Italy.
authors.forename: Andreina
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Traversa
authors.affiliation: Department of Soil, Plant and Food Sciences, University of Bari "Aldo Moro", via Amendola 165/A, 70126 Bari, Italy.
authors.forename: Teodoro M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Miano
mesh_terms: D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D007189:Indans / Q000032:analysis*; D007558:Italy; D032498:Pteridium / Q000737:chemistry*; D012717:Sesquiterpenes / Q000032:analysis*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D007189:Indans; D012717:Sesquiterpenes; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants; C043680:ptaquiloside
keywords: Bracken fern; DT(50); Kinetic models; Soil properties; Southern Europe