The use of vegetables in the biomonitoring of cadmium and lead pollution in the environment.
Lead and cadmium emitted from various anthropogenic sources have the ability to accumulate in tissues of living organisms. The phenomenon of accumulation of metals in the body is harmful and undesirable. The ability of plants to accumulate heavy metals from the individual elements of the environment has been used in biomonitoring of pollution. Leaves and roots of vegetables have particular predisposition for accumulating toxic metals such as lead and cadmium and therefore can be used for biomonitoring of the environment, mainly as a tool for assessing the extent of soil contamination. The article discusses information in the literature on entry paths of lead and cadmium into the body, toxic effects of lead and cadmium on the human organism, and the use of vegetables as a tool in the biomonitoring of heavy metals in different elements of the environment.
a Department of Analytical Chemistry, Chemistry Faculty , Gdansk University of Technology , Gdansk , Poland.
Marzena
M
Szczygłowska
Małgorzata
M
Bodnar
Jacek
J
Namieśnik
Piotr
P
Konieczka
D002104:Cadmium / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000032:analysis; D006801:Humans; D007854:Lead / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000633:toxicity; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D014675:Vegetables / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000378:metabolism
D012989:Soil Pollutants; D002104:Cadmium; D007854:Lead
Biomonitoring; cadmium; lead; vegetables