Antimony bioavailability: knowledge and research perspectives for sustainable agricultures.
The increasing interest in urban agriculture highlights the crucial question of crop quality. The main objectives for environmental sustainability are a decrease in chemical inputs, a reduction in the level of pollutants, and an improvement in the soil's biological activity. Among inorganic pollutants emitted by vehicle traffic and some industrial processes in urban areas, antimony (Sb) is observed on a global scale. While this metalloid is known to be potentially toxic, it can transfer from the soil or the atmosphere to plants, and accumulate in their edible parts. Urban agriculture is developing worldwide, and could therefore increasingly expose populations to Sb. The objective of this review was in consequences to gather and interpret actual knowledge of Sb uptake and bioaccumulation by crops, to reveal investigative fields on which to focus. While there is still no legal maximal value for Sb in plants and soils, light has to be shed on its accumulation and the factors affecting it. A relative absence of data exists about the role of soil flora and fauna in the transfer, speciation and compartmentation of Sb in vegetables. Moreover, little information exists on Sb ecotoxicity for terrestrial ecosystems. A human risk assessment has finally been reviewed, with particular focus on Sb bioaccessibility.
Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, EcoLab (Laboratoire d'écologie et environnement), ENSAT, Av. de l'Agrobiopôle, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; UMR 5245 CNRS, EcoLab, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France.
Antoine
A
Pierart
Department of Environmental Sciences, COMSATS Institute of Information Technology, 61100 Vehari, Pakistan.
Muhammad
M
Shahid
Université de Toulouse, INP, UPS, EcoLab (Laboratoire d'écologie et environnement), ENSAT, Av. de l'Agrobiopôle, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France; UMR 5245 CNRS, EcoLab, F-31326 Castanet-Tolosan, France.
Nathalie
N
Séjalon-Delmas
CERTOP UMR5044 - CERTOP, Université Jean Jaurès, Toulouse, France. Electronic address: camille.dumat@ensat.fr.
Camille
C
Dumat
D000383:Agriculture / Q000379:methods*; D000818:Animals; D000965:Antimony / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D001682:Biological Availability; D006801:Humans; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000032:analysis* / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity
D012989:Soil Pollutants; D000965:Antimony
Antimony; Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi; Bioavailability; Edible crops; Human health risk