Toxic Metals (As, Cd, Ni, Pb) Impact in the Most Common Medicinal Plant ( Mentha piperita )

Cristina Dinu, Stefania Gheorghe, Anda Gabriela Tenea, Catalina Stoica, Gabriela-Geanina Vasile, Roxana Luisa Popescu, Ecaterina Anca Serban and Luoana Florentina Pascu
Additional contact information
Cristina Dinu: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania
Stefania Gheorghe: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania
Anda Gabriela Tenea: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania
Catalina Stoica: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania
Gabriela-Geanina Vasile: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania
Roxana Luisa Popescu: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Ramnicu Valcea Branch, 182 Stirbei Voda Street, 240588 Ramnicu Valcea, Romania
Ecaterina Anca Serban: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania
Luoana Florentina Pascu: National Research and Development Institute for Industrial Ecology ECOIND Bucharest, 71-73 Drumul Podul Dambovitei Street, 060652 Bucharest, Romania

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 8, 1-21

Abstract: This study aimed to evaluate the behavior of Mentha piperita under Cd, Pb, Ni, and As soil contamination and their transfer from soil in plants as well as translocation in the roots/stems/leaves system compared with a control without metal addition. The mint seedlings were exposed for a three-month period using two metal mixtures in the same concentrations such as AsCd and AsCdNiPb (23.7 mg/kg As, 5 mg/kg Cd, 136 mg/kg Ni, and 95 mg/kg Pb). The results of metal concentration in plants showed that Cd, Ni, and Pb were accumulated in different parts of the plant, except for As. In plants organs, the order of metal accumulation was roots > stems > leaves. No significant impact on the growth, development, and chlorophyll content compared to the control was observed in the first month of exposure. After three months of exposure, phytotoxic effects occurred. Generally, the transfer coefficients and translocation factors values were less than 1, indicating that Mentha piperita immobilized the metals in root. The laboratory experiments highlighted that for a short period of time, Mentha piperita has the capacity to stabilize the metals at the root level and was a metal-tolerant plant when using a garden rich-substrate.

Keywords: Mentha piperita; metals; translocation (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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