Soil-Plant Metal Relations in Panax notoginseng: An Ecosystem Health Risk Assessment

Xiaohong Ou, Li Wang, Lanping Guo, Xiuming Cui, Dahui Liu and Ye Yang
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Xiaohong Ou: College of Resources and Environment, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan 430070, China
Li Wang: Institute of Medicinal Plants, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming 650205, China
Lanping Guo: Chinese Medica Resources Center, China Academy of Chinese Medicinal Sciences, Beijing 100700, China
Xiuming Cui: Kunming Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Famous-Region Drug, Key Laboratory of Panax notoginseng Resources Sustainable Development and Utilization of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China
Dahui Liu: Institute of Medicinal Plants, Yunnan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Kunming 650205, China
Ye Yang: Kunming Key Laboratory of Sustainable Development and Utilization of Famous-Region Drug, Key Laboratory of Panax notoginseng Resources Sustainable Development and Utilization of State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Faculty of Life Science and Technology, Kunming University of Science and Technology, Kunming 650500, China

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 11, 1-14

Abstract: This study features a survey of the content of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg and Cu) in root and cultivation soils of Panax notoginseng ( P. notoginseng ), carried out in China’s Yunnan Province. The average contents of Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg, and Cu in the soil were 61.6, 0.4, 102.4, 57.1, 0.3, and 35.1 mg·kg ?1 , respectively. The heavy metals’ pollution indexes can be ranked as follows: As > Cd > Hg > Cu > Cr > Pb. The proportion of soil samples at slight, middle, strong, very strong, and extremely strong levels of potential environmental risk had values of 5.41%, 21.62%, 35.14%, 10.81%, and 27.03%, respectively. The potential environment risk index ( RI ) showed that 29.73% out of the total sample sites were above the level of strong and extremely strong. The ranges of Pb, Cd, Cr, As, Hg, and Cu content in tuber were 0.04–3.26, 0.04–0.33, 0.22–5.4, 0.10–1.8, 0.00–0.02, and 5.0–20.9 mg·kg ?1 , respectively. In combination with P. notoginseng consumption data, the estimated heavy metal daily intakes (EDIs) were 0.08–0.23, 0.006–0.019, 0.17–0.52, 0.04–0.12, 0.001–0.002, and 0.59–1.77 ?g·kg ?1 ·bw/day. All target hazard quotients (THQs) of individual elements and hazard indexes ( HI ) were less than one. The present study indicates that most of the P. notoginseng cultivation soil in the province of Yunnan presented slight and moderate ecological risk. Thus, more attention should be given to the heavy metals As, Cd, and Hg when selecting planting areas for the cultivation of P. notoginseng . Health risks associated with the intake of a single element or consumption of the combined metals through P. notoginseng are absent.

Keywords: Panax notoginseng (Burk) F. H. Chen; heavy metal; Chinese herb medical; risk (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
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