Concentrations of 50 major and trace elements in Danish agricultural crops measured by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. 3. Potato (Solanum tuberosum folva)

Comprehensive Metabolite Profiling in Genetic Resources of Garlic (Allium sativum L.) Collected from Different Geographical Regions

Garlic (Allium sativum) is the second most important Allium crop that has been used as a vegetable and condiment from ancient times due to its characteristic flavor and taste. Although garlic is a sterile plant that reproduces vegetatively through cloves, garlic shows high biodiversity, as well as phenotypic plasticity and environmental adaptation capacity. To determine the possible mechanism underlying this phenomenon and to provide new genetic materials for the development of a novel garlic cultivar with useful agronomic traits, the metabolic profiles in the leaf tissue of 30 garlic accessions collected from different geographical regions, with a special focus on the Asian region, were investigated using LC/MS. In addition, the total saponin and fructan contents in the roots and cloves of the investigated garlic accessions were also evaluated. Total saponin and fructan contents did not separate the garlic accessions based on their geographical origin, implying that saponin and fructan contents were clone-specific and agroclimatic changes have affected the quantitative and qualitative levels of saponins in garlic over a long history of cultivation. Principal component analysis (PCA) and dendrogram clustering of the LC/MS-based metabolite profiling showed two major clusters. Specifically, many Japanese and Central Asia accessions were grouped in cluster I and showed high accumulations of flavonol glucosides, alliin, and methiin. On the other hand, garlic accessions grouped in cluster II exhibited a high accumulation of anthocyanin glucosides and amino acids. Although most of the accessions were not separated based on country of origin, the Central Asia accessions were clustered in one group, implying that these accessions exhibited distinct metabolic profiles. The present study provides useful information that can be used for germplasm selection and the development of new garlic varieties with beneficial biotic and abiotic stress-adaptive traits.

Heavy metal detoxification by recombinant ferritin from Apostichopus japonicus

Ferritin fromApostichopus japonicasshowed better ability in heavy metal detoxification than horse spleen ferritin.

ATSDR evaluation of potential for human exposure to zinc

As part of its mandate, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) prepares toxicological profiles on hazardous chemicals found at Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) National Priorities List (NPL) sites that have the greatest public health impact. These profiles comprehensively summarize toxicological and environmental information. This article constitutes the release of portions of the toxicological profile for zinc. The primary purpose of this article is to provide interested individuals with environmental information on zinc that includes production data, environmental fate, potential for human exposure, analytical methods and a listing of regulations and advisories. Toxicology and Industrial Health 2007; 23: 247—308

Tungsten distribution in soil and rice in the vicinity of the world's largest and longest-operating tungsten mine in China

The objective of this study is to investigate tungsten (W) contamination in soil and its enrichment in rice in the area of the world's largest and longest-operating W mines in China. Root zone soil and rice plants were sampled at 15 sites in the agricultural field adjacent to W mines and analyzed for Al, Fe, Mn, Sc, and W contents and W chemical forms in the soil samples and W contents in the rice root, stem, leaf, and grain samples. Results showed that W content in the soil ranged from 3.99 to 43.7 mg kg(-1), with more than 90% of W in the residual fraction, showing its low mobility and bioavailability. Average W contents in the rice root, stem, leaf, and grain were 7.06, 2.34, 4.76, 0.17 mg kg(-1), respectively. In addition, they were linearly independent of W content and chemical forms in the soil. Average enrichment factor values were 0.39, 0.13, 0.28, and 0.01 for the root, stem, leaf, and grain, respectively. In can be concluded that W mining activity in the Dayu county contaminated the nearby agricultural soil and led to W bioaccumulation in the rice. This may pose a health risk to residents via food and soil ingestion, which should be a focus of scrutiny.

Chemometric classification of potatoes with protected designation of origin according to their producing area and variety

Potatoes from Galicia (northwestern Spain) are subjected to a Protected Geographic Indication (PGI) according to European legislation. Ten trace elements (Li, Na, K, Rb, Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, Cu, and Zn) have been determined by atomic spectrometry in two sets of potato samples: Geo-Origin.set and Variety.set. The first data set is composed of samples of the only variety authorized by PGI (Kennebec) with two geographical origins: Galician and non-Galician. The second set corresponds to samples from different varieties but with only Galician geographical origin. Chemometric pattern recognition techniques have been applied to the study of potato geographical and varietal origins in relation to their capability for translocating metals from soil to tuber. Also, authentication models for classifying potato samples with Galician PGI based on metal fingerprints have been developed. The results obtained showed that samples of the same variety, Kennebec, have different metal fingerprints when they have been produced in different geographic locations. Also, diverse potato varieties cultivated on equal geographic Galician origin presented different metal profiles as well. Therefore, it can be concluded that classification studies on the differentiation of geographical origin of foods should take into account information of production area together with varietal data. Otherwise, classification obtained on the basis of the geographical origin could be due to the different variety or vice versa. Finally, two models were constructed for Kennebec Galician samples against Kennebec from other origins as well as against other varieties cultivated in Galicia (Liseta and Baraka). Both models achieved adequate classification rates (93-100%), good sensitivities, and total specificities (100%), allowing the fraud detection in the PGI label.

Evaluation of the comprehensiveness and reliability of the chromium composition of foods in the literature ()

In the early 1960s, trivalent chromium Cr(3+) became recognized as an essential trace element due to its potential metabolic and cardiovascular benefits. No comprehensive chromium database currently exists; thus a thorough review of the literature was conducted to examine the availability and reliability of chromium data for foods. A number of key issues were identified that challenge the feasibility of adding chromium to a food and nutrient database. Foremost, dietary chromium data reported in the literature prior to 1980 cannot be relied on because of problematic analytical issues before that time. Next, paucity of data emerged as an issue that could impede database completeness. Finally, large variation in reported chromium content of foods may render disputable representative chromium values. This variation has been speculated to originate from differences in growing and particularly processing foods. Furthermore, contamination of chromium from laboratory equipment and/or materials is possible and also believed to contribute to the variation observed in reported values. As a result, database developers must carefully consider the availability and reliability of information on the chromium composition of foods when deciding whether to incorporate chromium into or exclude it from a nutrient database.

Quality of organically and conventionally grown potatoes: Four-year study of micronutrients, metals, secondary metabolites, enzymic browning and organoleptic properties

The quality of potatoes from organic and conventional farming was investigated in this study. Tubers of eight potato varieties, organically and conventionally produced at one or two geographical sites in controlled field trials, were collected in four consecutive harvests from 1996-1999. The parameters analysed included nitrate, trace elements (As, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, Zn), vitamin C, potato glycoalkaloids, as well as chlorogenic acid, polyphenol oxidase and rate of tuber enzymic browning. The results indicated lower nitrate content and higher vitamin C and chlorogenic acid content to be the parameters most consistently differentiating organically from conventionally produced potatoes. Elevated concentrations of glycoalkaloids were also observed throughout the experiments in some potato varieties grown in organic farming systems. Principal component analysis (PCA) of the analytical and other data using three PCs confirmed a good separation between the organically and conventionally produced potatoes when studied in single crop years. However, score-plots (objects) and loading-plots (variables) of pooled results from the consecutive harvests showed that between the years' changes and also variety as well as geographical variations are equally or more important factors determining the quality of potatoes than the farming system. Further studies of various marker compounds of potato quality related to the organic or conventional farming systems should be performed before unbiased information can be given to the consumers.

Determination of the country of origin of garlic (Allium sativum) using trace metal profiling

A method for determining the country of origin of garlic by comparing the trace metal profile of the sample to an authentic garlic database is presented. Protocols for sample preparation, high-resolution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, and multivariate statistics are provided. The criteria used for making a country of origin prediction are also presented. Indications are that the method presented here may be used to determine the geographic origin of other agricultural products.