Transfer rate of pesticide residues from medicinal plants in different types of extractive solutions

Abstract

Starting from the suspicion that the medicinal herbs may contain traces of pesticides and taking into account the risks of patients being exposed to contaminated products, the aim of this research was to evaluate the pesticide residues and the degree of their transfer (%) in three types of preparations (infusion, decoctionand cold maceration), for four medicinal plant species very often used in phytotherapy (Rosmarini folium, Menthae folium, Saturejae herba and Basilica herba). For each type of plant product, four samples were purchased from different manufacturers and they have been analyzed using gas chromatography- tandem mass spectrometry. One out of four samples of the same plant species contain at least one pesticide residue above the maximum level and shows a significant transfer of these residues in aqueous extractive solutions during extraction. The highest rate of pesticide transfer from medicinal plants was identified in infusions, recommended by many manufacturers.     

Usage of non-timber forest products by women in forest villages of Trabzon, Turkey

Women are responsible for procuring the food for their family in many places in the world. The usage of the non-timber forest products (NTFPs) reaches to the beginning of the humanity NTFPs are used for food and medicine especially in the developing countries as a whole. In this research, totally 611 questionnaires were conducted with women participants by polling face to face in 68 forest villages in the research area. The main reason for studying with women is that; the gathering activities are usually done by women in that area and they also knew the used parts and how to use the NTFPs. Results showed that about 14.4% of the women in the research area are gathering the plants for food (17 species and 2-8 kg annually) and 9.2% of the women are gathering the plants for medicinal purposes (16 species and 1-4 kg annually). These plants are usually used for additional medicinal treatments. 4 species are used for livestock treatment and 2 species in the hand weaving.     

Identification of phosphorus dynamics in Kootenay Lake,Canada

This paper regards the use of system theory techniques in the development of models describing the phosphorus kinetics in fresh waters with the objective to understand the observed kinetics better in order to obtain indications on the design of future field experiments. Identification techniques have been applied to the data regarding 49 experiments on phosphorus cycling in Kootenay Lake, British Columbia, Canada, in order to determine the minimal number of compartments required to model the phosphorus dynamical behaviour. Canonical state-space models have then been identified both from raw and smoothed data. The parameters in these models do not have a direct physical meaning; they can, however, be identified from the measured data and the obtained models describe with good accuracy the considered kinetics. The identification of physical models has also been performed; in this case, however, only two compartments have been considered according to the results of the identifiability analysis of the complete model parameters. Results give further insight on the phosphorus processes and show that the complete phosphorus cycle through the four compartments described by Lean can be identified only when phosphorus cycles rapidly through the system.     

土壤中结合残留态农药的生态环境效应

土壤中农药结合残留态的形成，导致其活性暂时降低，但并未从土壤中消失，在特定的环境条件下又重新释放到环境中并表现出较高的生物有效性，从而威胁农产品质量安全与环境质量。文章论述了土壤中结合残留态农药的定义、形成过程及影响因素、老化和释放过程及机制。土壤中结合残留态农药主要通过吸附过程、化学反应及物理镶嵌等作用而形成，其形成过程受农药的结构和化学特性、土壤理化性质、环境条件和农艺措施的影响。老化是化合物和土壤组分紧密结合，减少被普通提取方法提取出来的数量，降低了化合物的生物有效性。同时老化的物质在土壤环境条件改变的情况下又重新释放到土壤溶液中或进行矿化，此过程可以通过物理一化学机制或生物化学作用而发生。重新释放到环境中的结合残留态农药又表现出较高的生物有效性，可能被植物、动物或微生物所吸收，并沿食物链富集和放大或进入水体污染水产品和造成水质恶化，从而威胁人体健康。文章还分析了土壤结合残留态农药可能带来的环境问题，提出了此问题今后研究的方向。     

Traditional Plant Harvesting in Contemporary Fragmented and Urban Landscapes

Abstract: Ecosystem fragmentation and destruction can lead to restrictive administration policies on traditional harvesting by indigenous peoples from remaining ecosystem tracts. In New Zealand, concerns about endangered species and governmental policies that focus on species and ecosystem preservation have resulted in severely curtailed traditional harvesting rights. Although provision has been made for limited gathering of traditional plants from government‐administered conservation lands, it is unclear how much harvesting is undertaken on these lands and elsewhere and what this harvest might consist of. We interviewed seven expert Maori elders from the Waikato, New Zealand, to identify plant species they currently harvested and from where. We compared these data with the data we collected on permits issued for plant collecting on conservation lands in the same region. We sought to gain information on indigenous plant harvesting to determine the extent of permitted harvesting from conservation lands in the Waikato and to identify issues that might affect plant harvesting and management. Elders identified 58 species they harvest regularly or consider culturally important; over 50% of these species are harvested for medicinal use. Permit data from 1996 to 2006 indicated no apparent relationship between species of reported cultural significance and the number of permits issued for each of these species. Currently, few plant species are harvested from conservation lands, although some unofficial harvesting occurs. Elders instead reported that medicinal plants are frequently collected from urban and other public areas. They reported that plant species used for dyeing, carving, and weaving are difficult to access. Elders also discussed concerns such as spraying of roadsides, which resulted in the death of medicinal species, and use of commercial hybrids in urban planning. Local government may have an increasingly important role in supporting native traditions through urban planning, which takes account of cultural harvesting needs while potentially reducing future harvesting pressure on conservation lands. We suggest that active participation by the Māori community in the development and management of urban harvesting resources will result in positive outcomes.     

Ecological niche modeling of customary medicinal plant species used by Australian Aborigines to identify species-rich and culturally valuable areas for conservation

Customary medicinal plant species used by Australian Aborigines are disappearing rapidly with its associated knowledge, due to the loss of habitats. Conservation and protection of these species is important as they represent sources of novel therapeutic phytochemical compounds and are culturally valuable. Information on the spatial distribution and use of customary medicinal plants is often inadequate and fragmented, posing limitations on the identification and conservation of species-rich areas and culturally valuable habitats.In this study, the habitat suitability modeling program, MaxEnt, was used to predict the potential ecological niches of 431 customary medicinal plant species, based on bioclimatic variables. Specimen locality records were obtained from the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) data portal and from Australia's Virtual Herbarium (AVH).Ecological niche models of 414 predicted species, which had 30 or more occurrence points, were used to produce maps indicating areas that were ecologically suitable for multiple species (concordance of high predicted ecological suitability) and having cultural values. For the concordance map, individual species niche models were thresholded and summed. To derive a map of culturally valuable areas, customary medicinal uses from Customary Medicinal Knowledgebase (CMKb) (www.biolinfo.org/cmkb) were used to weight individual species models, resulting in a value within each grid cell reflecting its cultural worth.Even though the available information is scarce and fragmented, our approach provides an opportunity to infer areas predicted to be suitable for multiple species (i.e. concordance hotspots) and to estimate the cultural value of a particular geographical area. Our results also indicate that to conserve bio-cultural diversity, comprehensive information and active participation of Aboriginal communities is indispensable.     

Dioxinbilanz für Hamburg

The sources and reservoirs of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/PCDF) in the city of Hamburg, Germany, in the year 1992 were identified and quantified combining analytical data of PCDD/PCDF with statistical data on annual fluxes of materials and products. Fluxes and amounts of PCDD/PCDF were estimated for the environmental compartments water, air, and soil. Dioxin emissions originating from industrial, commercial or private activities were also calculated. Together with the analysis of the specific regional nutrition data, the human exposurevia the various pathways could be determined. It could be shown that the total PCDD/PCDF intake of individuals in Hamburg was about the same as the national average. High annual fluxes of PCDD/PCDF connected with the trade of industrial products and the waste management and disposal: system in Hamburg obviously had no influence on the human intake of PCDD/PCDF.     

Understanding why consumers in China switch between wild,farmed, and synthetic bear bile products

An important rationale for legally farmed and synthetic wildlife products is that they reduce illegal, wild-sourced trade by supplying markets with sustainable alternatives. For this to work, more established illegal-product consumers must switch to legal alternatives than new legal-product consumers switch to illegal wild products. Despite the widespread debate on the magnitude and direction of switching, studies among actual consumers are lacking. We used an anonymous online survey of 1421 traditional Chinese medicine consumers in China to investigate switching among legal farmed, synthetic, and illegal wild bear bile. We examined the past consumption behavior, applied a discrete choice experiment framed within worsening hypothetical disease scenarios, and used latent class models to investigate groups with shared preferences. Bear bile consumers (86% respondents) were wealthier, more likely to have family who consumed bile, and less knowledgeable about bile treatments than nonconsumers. Consumer preferences were heterogenous, but most consumer preferences switched between bile types as disease worsened. We identified five distinct latent classes within our sample: law-abiding consumers (34% respondents), who prefer legal products and were unlikely to switch; two all-natural consumer groups (53%), who dislike synthetics but may switch between farmed and wild; and two nonconsumer groups (12%), who prefer not to buy bile. People with past experience of bile consumption had different preferences than those without. Willingness to switch to wild products was related to believing they were legal, although the likelihood of switching was mediated by preferences for cheaper products sold in legal, familiar places. We found that consumers of wild bile may switch to legal alternatives, given the availability of a range of products, whereas legal-product consumers may switch to illegal products if the barriers to doing so are small. Understanding preferences that promote or impede switching should be a key consideration when attempting to predict consumer behavior in complex wildlife markets.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in medicinal plants from Syria

The levels of 16 US Environmental Protection Agency polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (EPA PAHs) in 10 medicinal plants in different used parts of plant (leaves and flowers) have been determined. The analytical method consists of sample preparation by ultrasonic extraction with dichloromethane followed by silica gel clean-up. Subsequently, the analysis was carried out by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled to both ultraviolet and fluorescence detections in series to insure the detection of all 16 EPA PAHs. It was observed that the sum of the 16 PAHs (ΣPAHs) in the investigated medicinal plants ranged from 47 to 890 μg kg^–1 where the highest ΣPAHs was found in Sage plant sample. Light PAHs were dominants in all studied medicinal plants. The sum of eight genotoxic PAHs (ΣPAH8) have shown a better indicator of the degree of contamination with carcinogenic PAHs compared to benzo[a]pyrene in these products.     

Effects of Dam‐Induced Landscape Fragmentation on Amazonian Ant–Plant Mutualistic Networks

Mutualistic networks are critical to biological diversity maintenance; however, their structures and functionality may be threatened by a swiftly changing world. In the Amazon, the increasing number of dams poses a large threat to biological diversity because they greatly alter and fragment the surrounding landscape. Tight coevolutionary interactions typical of tropical forests, such as the ant–myrmecophyte mutualism, where the myrmecophyte plants provide domatia nesting space to their symbiotic ants, may be jeopardized by the landscape changes caused by dams. We analyzed 31 ant–myrmecophyte mutualistic networks in undisturbed and disturbed sites surrounding Balbina, the largest Central Amazonian dam. We tested how ant–myrmecophyte networks differ among dam‐induced islands, lake edges, and undisturbed forests in terms of species richness, composition, structure, and robustness (number of species remaining in the network after partner extinctions). We also tested how landscape configuration in terms of area, isolation, shape, and neighborhood alters the structure of the ant–myrmecophyte networks on islands. Ant–myrmecophytic networks were highly compartmentalized in undisturbed forests, and the compartments had few strongly connected mutualistic partners. In contrast, networks at lake edges and on islands were not compartmentalized and were negatively affected by island area and isolation in terms of species richness, density, and composition. Habitat loss and fragmentation led to coextinction cascades that contributed to the elimination of entire ant–plant compartments. Furthermore, many myrmecophytic plants in disturbed sites lost their mutualistic ant partners or were colonized by opportunistic, nonspecialized ants. Robustness of ant–myrmecophyte networks on islands was lower than robustness near lake edges and in undisturbed forest and was particularly susceptible to the extinction of plants. Beyond the immediate habitat loss caused by the building of large dams in Amazonia, persistent edge effects and habitat fragmentation associated with dams had large negative effects on animal–plant mutualistic networks. Efectos de la Fragmentación del Paisaje Inducida por Presas sobre Redes Mutualistas Hormiga‐Planta Amazónicas     

Ecological network analysis of an urban energy metabolic system: Model development, and a case study of four Chinese cities

Urban metabolism research faces difficulties defining ecological trophic levels and analyzing relationships among the metabolic system's energy components. Here, we propose a new way to perform such research. By integrating throughflow analysis with ecological network utility analysis, we used network flows to analyze the metabolic system's network structure and the ecological relationships within the system. We developed an ecological network model for the system, and used four Chinese cities as examples of how this approach provides insights into the flows within the system at both high and low levels of detail. Using the weight distribution in the network flow matrix, we determined the structure of the urban energy metabolic system and the trophic levels; using the sign distribution in the network utility matrix, we determined the relationships between each pair of the system's compartments and their degrees of mutualism. The model uses compartments based on 17 sectors (energy exploitation; coal-fired power; heat supply; washed coal; coking; oil refinery; gas generation; coal products; agricultural; industrial; construction; communication, storage, and postal service; wholesale, retail, accommodation, and catering; household; other consuming; recovery; and energy stocks). Analyzing the structure and functioning of the urban energy metabolic system revealed ways to optimize its structure by adjusting the relationships among compartments, thereby demonstrating how ecological network analysis can be used in future urban system research.     

Pb in medicinal plants from Jordan

This is the first report on Pb in medicinal herbs from Jordan. Medicinal herbs may present a health risk due to the presence of toxic metals. Seventy-nine dry medicinal plant samples were collected from herbalist shops in Jordan. The plants were digested with acids and analyzed for total Pb concentration using atomic absorption spectrometry. Mean Pb concentration was 15.9 μg/g on a dry weight basis. Our results show that Pb concentrations in Jordan medicinal plants are higher than published data in other countries. The highest level of 33.4 μg Pb/g was determined in Inula viscosa, and the lowest level of 3.0 μg Pb/g was found in Nigella sativa. Calculated daily intakes of Pb of most analyzed herbs were high; most of them are higher than recommended values by the world health organization (WHO). Fortunately, the herbs that contain the highest Pb levels are the less commonly used medicinal herbs in Jordan. The mean Pb levels in the most commonly, commonly and less commonly used herbs in Jordan are 13.9, 13.1 and 16.9 μg Pb/g, respectively. The average dietary intake of Pb through a mixture of these medicinal herbs consumption, assuming 5.0 g herbs is consumed daily, is 79.5 μg Pb/day, which is higher than the maximum daily limit allowed by WHO. We conclude that most of the medicinal plants consumed in Jordan contain significant amount of Pb, and therefore, people of Jordan should not consume large amounts of these herbs.     

Pharmazeutische Wirkstoffe und Umweltschutz

On 26 April this year the German Environmental Advisory Council (SRU) published a statement on ‘Pharmaceuticals in the environment’ and pointed considerable need for action to understand and to reduce the risks from diffuse pharmaceutical inputs in the environment. On the one hand, it is urgently necessary to improve the database for environmental risk assessments; on the other hand measures should already be taken to minimize harmful inputs. Fortunately, the new regulations for an application for an authorization to market new pharmaceuticals require an environmental risk assessment. However, there is a lack of information on possible impacts from long time admitted medicines which may be responsible for harmful active substances detectable in the environment. To remove this data deficit, a European programme for risk evaluation of old pharmaceuticals should be established. It is necessary for an adequate risk assessment to look at all impacts of one active substance or all substances same-directed in their active potential summativ and to generate regularly consumption data in particular for the use of veterinary products. The hot spots of contamination are the introduction of large scale volumes of active pharmaceutical ingredients for human use like diclofenac and carbamazepin as well as hormones into surface waters, as well as the application of antibiotics-loaded economic fertilizers on soils. Not to be neglected is the application of antiparasitics in animals kept on pasture. With the assessment of the use of pharmaceuticals for all purposes special attention is needed on antibiotic resistance. For the mitigation of environmental exposures there are exposures measures necessary to reduce use of antibiotics in farming, for the application of new effective technologies in treatment sewage — as for example ozonation, filtration with activated carbon or membrane filtration — as well as for the labelling of environmentally harmful medicinal products.     

Indigenous Uses, Population Density, and Conservation of Threatened Medicinal Plants in Protected Areas of the Indian Himalayas

Abstract:  For 10 years I monitored the population density of threatened medicinal plant species in seven protected areas in the Indian Himalayas. I also documented the indigenous uses of threatened medicinal plants through interviews with 138 herbal healers (83 Tibetan healers and 55 Ayurvedic healers) residing in the buffer zone villages of these protected areas. To assess the population status of threatened medicinal plant species, I sampled the 10 major habitat types in the protected areas. In all, I found 60 threatened medicinal plant species during the study period, of which 54 species occurred in the sampling plots. Twenty-two percent of threatened medicinal plant species were critically endangered, 16% were endangered, and 27% were vulnerable. Thirty-two threatened medicinal plant species were endemic to the Himalayan region. The density of threatened medicinal plant species varied with protected areas. The Valley of Flowers protected area had the highest number of threatened medicinal plant species. The "moist" habitat type was richest in these species among all 10 habitat types sampled. Arnebia euchroma (Royle ex Benth.) Johnston and Ephedra gerardiana Wall. ex Stapf. were the most common threatened medicinal plant species. The indigenous groups of healers used these threatened species in curing about 45 different ailments. Based on my findings, I believe that to ensure the long-term sustainability of threatened medicinal plants, medicinal-plant conservation areas should be established.     

The dangers of skin-lightening creams

Skin-lightening creams are extensively promoted online and in the media. They may contain a wide variety of active ingredients such as mercury, hydroquinone, and steroids that are highly toxic, especially after prolonged application. For more than a decade, we found high mercury content in many products sold on Saudi markets. Some of these products were later banned by the government. However, the presence of other ingredients has not been documented. We undertake this study on some of the most popular skin-lightening creams on the market to test for toxic ingredients such as mercury, titanium dioxide, hydroquinone, and corticosteroids. A total of 33 different brands were selected for the analysis of titanium (50 samples), hydroquinone (55 samples), and corticosteroids (56 samples) with the exception of mercury in which only 23 brands (34 samples) were tested. This study showed that 2 of 34 skin-lightening creams had mercury above the US FDA limit of 1?µg?g^?1. All products had titanium dioxide at less than 25% (w/w) of the EU and US FDA safety limits for personal products but 8 products from 7 different brands contained titanium dioxide above 1%, the permissible limit in cosmetics as color additives. In this study, we found 8 creams from 7 different brands had hydroquinone above 1.5% (w/w), the newly proposed FDA limit of hydroquinone in OTC skin-lightening drug products. Among the four tested corticosteroid compounds, the most frequently detected was cortisone and 18 products from 13 different brands were above 6?µg?g^?1 (MDL) with a maximum of up to 0.32% (w/w). Dexamethasone was found in 7 creams from 5 different brands with only 3 above the MDL of 9?µg?g^?1. Although one might argue that these corticosteroids are of mild or low potency, and they may be unlikely to have any adverse effects, these products are marketed as personal-care products on the assumption that they are safe and free of steroids. The overall results indicate that many of the skin-lightening creams sold in the Saudi market contained one or more toxic ingredients that in most cases were not listed on the packaging. Many of these ingredients are harmful and pose health risks if we take into account the frequency of application, the duration of practice, and area of the body applied, and their use during pregnancy and/or periods of lactation.     

Surfactants in sludge-amended agricultural soils: a review

Surfactants are included in different detergent formulations and are one of the most ubiquitous and important families of organic compounds. Although the generic term applies to a great number of products, 80% of their demand is covered by only ten types of compounds. The global surfactant market volume size is more than 18 million tons per year. Large quantities of surfactants are continuously released into the environment, where they can or cannot be degraded depending on their structure. The alkylbenzenesulphonate (LAS) is the most widely used surfactant. LAS can be degraded under aerobic conditions but is persistent in the environment under anaerobic conditions. Surfactants may enter the terrestrial environment through several routes, with the use of sewage sludge as fertiliser on agricultural land being by far the most important. High concentrations of surfactants and their degradation products may affect the biota. On the other hand, due to their amphiphilic nature, surfactants may interact both with inorganic as well as organic contaminants affecting their bioavailability.     

Comparative Analysis of Management Regimes and Medicinal Plant Trade Monitoring Mechanisms for American Ginseng and Goldenseal

Abstract: Two popular and profitable native North American medicinal plants, American ginseng (    Panax quinquefolius ) and goldenseal (   Hydrastis canadensis ), both of which are listed in Appendix 2 of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), are monitored under disparate domestic strategies that are designed to satisfy CITES requirements. The P. quinquefolius program has benefited the species by encouraging U.S. states to enact laws to protect wild populations and regulate collection, and by establishing a transparent system under which harvest, commerce, and export can be monitored, evaluated, and controlled routinely. But certain programmatic constraints, such as insufficient funding and gaps in biological monitoring, undermine its effectiveness as a management strategy for the species. The joint industry and government H. canadensis initiative is intended to give commercial traders more responsibility in monitoring plant trade and the federal government access to information that may otherwise be difficult to obtain without the help of traders. I examined the structure, successes, and deficiencies of the P. quinquefolius program, promising features of the evolving H. canadensis program, Turkey's management of geophytes, and other sources of information from federal agencies that might contribute to more effective management of medicinal plants in the United States. Although the main goal of domestic monitoring programs for P. quinquefolius and H. canadensis is to implement their CITES listings, it is conceivable that similar programs could be established for non–CITES medicinal plants, thereby minimizing or replacing the need for CITES protection.     

HCH residues in point-source contaminated samples of the Teltow Canal in Berlin,Germany

Contaminated groundwater and a riverine sediment core heavily affected by the same industrial point source were analysed for hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCH) and its degradation products. A detailed quantification by GC/MS revealed contamination levels up to 730 μg/L and 396 ng/g in sum for the water and sediment samples, respectively. The isomer pattern differed significantly in both compartments. The ground water samples were depleted in γ-HCH, whereas a significant loss of α-HCH was evident in the sediments as compared to the technical composition. The data obtained revealed interesting insights into the transformation behaviour and fate of HCH mixtures in anaerobic environmental compartments. In the affected groundwater system an ongoing microbial degradation was pointed out by the identification of indicative anaerobic metabolites. On the contrary in the sedimentary system a high environmental stability or rather a hindered degradation was observed as indicated by unaltered concentration levels as compared to production rates as well as by the absence of metabolites. Interestingly, the environmental fate of HCH in subaquatic sediments as well as in anaerobic ground water differs highly in contrast to the behaviour in anaerobic soil or surface water systems. Further on, it has to be stated, that the knowledge about the long-term behaviour of HCH residues in sedimentary material under anaerobic conditions is rather limited so far.     

Overview of principles and implementations to deal with spatial issues in monitoring environmental effects of genetically modified organisms

Background

Sorting and disposal of waste are the last steps in the “lifetime” of a product. If products are contaminated with chemicals assessed to be hazardous for man or environment, waste management has the role of a vacuum cleaner in substance chain management working in two different ways: The hazardous compounds have to be properly separated from potential secondary resources in sorting processes. If this is not possible, those products have to be disposed safely. Starting from the experiences collected with some chemicals banned, the tools used for phasing out these chemicals from the technosphere are studied with respect to their influence on the contamination of the environment.

Results

Even if a dangerous substance has been banned, it is further used in a number of products. In the cases presented here, the substances were banned for further use. In the case of CFCs, the substitutes used have partially also been substituted because of adverse effects. Besides the prohibition of use of hazardous substances, numerous other regulations were issued to reduce unsafe handling and minimize emissions into the environment. It turned out that waste management cannot correct mistakes which already happened “upstream” in the product chain. The control of point sources works quite successfully, whereas today the overwhelming emissions stem from diffuse sources, partially caused by unsafe waste management procedures.

Conclusions

Though there are no complete balances for both groups of compounds serving as examples, some conclusions can be drawn based on the experiences collected. Hazardous compounds may be separated successfully from used products or waste,

• If they are mostly used in industry and not in households,
• if they can be identified as part of certain products,
• if their concentration in these products is rather high,
• if technical problems come up when they contaminate secondary raw materials,
• if there is international support for proper waste management.