Accumulation of selenium in natural plants and selenium supplemented vegetable and selenium speciation by HPLC-ICPMS

Authors: Slekovec, Metka; Goessier, Walter

Source: Chemical Speciation and Bioavailability, Volume 17, Number 2, May 2005 , pp. 63-73(11)

Publisher: Science Reviews 2000 Ltd

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Abstract:

Samples of different grass types, white clover, red clover, dandelion, English plantain, different sorts of vegetables, such as garlic, radish and carrot, with the associated soil samples were collected at sites located 300 to 600 meters away from the coal-fired thermal power plant Šoštanj in the Šalek valley in Slovenia. In the soil the highest soil average selenium concentration (1.21 mg Se kg−1) was obtained at the margin of a coal ash dump whereas at other locations the selenium soil concentrations varied between 0.87 and 0.98 mg Se kg−1. Among collected plants the lowest selenium accumulation was obtained in dried grass samples (∼80 μg Se kg−1) and in the edible parts of the vegetable (10-50 μg Se kg−1).

In a separate experiment, cabbage, radish, onion and garlic growing outdoors in beds with an area of 1.6 m2 and 0.8 m2 were supplemented with selenium twice between the growing period by foliar aspiration with an aqueous solution of sodium selenate until 10 mg Se m−2 and 20 mg Se m−2 were added.

Radish was harvested after 17 days, and garlic, onion and cabbage one and half months after the last selenium supplementation. Most of the accumulated selenium was present in the vegetative parts of vegetable, and after the addition of 20 mg Se m−2 the highest selenium concentration was determined in onion and radish leaves (37.4 and 37.1 mg kg−1) followed by leaves of garlic (19.6 mg kg−1) and cabbage (11.9 mg kg−1). In the edible parts, selenium accumulation increased with increasing selenium supplementation, and after addition of 20 mg Se m−2 the highest selenium accumulation was obtained in cabbage (∼12 mg kg−1) followed by radish (8.2 mg kg−1), garlic (6.6 mg kg−1) and onion (5.6 mg kg−1). After extraction with methanol/water solution (9 : 1) selenium compounds were determined in the extracts by HPLC-ICPMS by application of an anionexchange PRP- ×6100 chromatographic column with 10 mM citric acid solution at pH 5.0 as mobile phase. The obtained extraction efficiencies were between 20 and 30% with the maximum value for radish and the minimum value for cabbage.

In the extracts of radish, about 100% of the extracted selenium was selenate. In the extract of garlic, besides selenate and traces of selenite, selenomethionine was also determined. In the extracts of cabbage and onions, about 90% of the extracted selenium was present as selenate.

Keywords: selenium; plants; bioavailability; speciation

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3184/095422905782774919

Affiliations: 1: University of Maribor, Faculty of Agriculture, Vrbanska 30, 2000 Maribor, Slovenia

Publication date: 2005-05-10

More about this publication?
  • Chemical Speciation & Bioavailability covers a rapidly expanding area in environmental science.

    Research on the interactions between the chemical forms and behaviour of toxic compounds and their subsequent biological uptake, metabolism and ecological fate involves many scientific fields. These studies are often published in discipline-specific journals, leading to inadequate review and information scatter. This situation hinders both the development of an international community of experienced colleagues and the open flow of information and discussion. Additionally, the importance of speciation and bioavailability research to the development of pollution law and control technologies is being increasingly appreciated by environmental regulatory agencies throughout the world.

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