Pollution by heavy metals (HM) represents a serious threat for both the environment and human health. Due to their elemental character, HM cannot be chemically degraded, and their detoxification in the environment mostly resides either in stabilization in situ or in their removal from the matrix, e.g., soil. For this purpose, phytoremediation, i.e., the application of plants for the restoration of a polluted environment, has been proposed as a promising green alternative to traditional physical and chemical methods. Among the phytoremediation techniques, phytoextraction refers to the removal of HM from the matrix through their uptake by a plant. It possesses considerable advantages over traditional techniques, especially due to its cost effectiveness, potential treatment of multiple HM simultaneously, no need for the excavation of contaminated soil, good acceptance by the public, the possibility of follow-up processing of the biomass produced, etc. In this review, we focused on three basic HM phytoextraction strategies that differ in the type of plant species being employed: natural hyperaccumulators, fast-growing plant species with high-biomass production and, potentially, plants genetically engineered toward a phenotype that favors efficient HM uptake and boosted HM tolerance. Considerable knowledge on the applicability of plants for HM phytoextraction has been gathered to date from both lab-scale studies performed under controlled model conditions and field trials using real environmental conditions. Based on this knowledge, many specific applications of plants for the remediation of HM-polluted soils have been proposed. Such studies often also include suggestions for the further processing of HM-contaminated biomass, therefore providing an added economical value. Based on the examples presented here, we recommend that intensive research be performed on the selection of appropriate plant taxa for various sets of conditions, environmental risk assessment, the fate of HM-enriched biomass, economical aspects of the process, etc.

Herbal-based dietary supplements have become increasingly popular. The extract from milk thistle ( Silybum marianum) , is often used for the treatment of liver diseases. However, serious concerns exist regarding the efficacy, composition, as well as the safety of these over-the-counter preparations. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the composition as well as chemical and biological safety of 26 milk thistle-based dietary supplements purchased from both the U.S. and Czech markets between 2016 and 2017. The study was focused on a determination of the composition of active ingredients, as well as analyses of possible contaminants including: mycotoxins, plant alkaloids, and pesticide residues, as well as the microbial purity. High-throughput analyses were performed using advanced U-HPLC-HRMS techniques. Large differences in the silymarin content were observed among individual milk thistle preparations, often in contrast with the information provided by the manufacturers. In addition, substantial inter-batch differences in silymarin content were also demonstrated. In all milk thistle preparations tested, large numbers and high concentrations of mycotoxins and several pesticides, as well as the substantial presence of microbiological contamination were detected, pointing to serious safety issues. In conclusion, our results strongly indicate the need for strict controls of the composition, chemical contaminants, as well as the microbiological purity of commercial milk thistle extracts used for the treatment of liver diseases. Poor definition of these preparations together with contamination by biologically active substances may not only account for the inconsistency of clinical observations, but also be responsible for possible herbal-based dietary supplements-induced liver injury.

Noble metals have played an integral part in human history for centuries; however, their integration with recent advances in nanotechnology and material sciences have provided new research opportunities in both academia and industry, which has resulted in a new array of advanced applications, including medical ones. Noble metal nanoparticles (NMNPs) have been of great importance in the field of biomedicine over the past few decades due to their importance in personalized healthcare and diagnostics. In particular, platinum, gold and silver nanoparticles have achieved the most dominant spot in the list, thanks to a very diverse range of industrial applications, including biomedical ones such as antimicrobial and antiviral agents, diagnostics, drug carriers and imaging probes. In particular, their superior resistance to extreme conditions of corrosion and oxidation is highly appreciated. Notably, in the past two decades there has been a tremendous advancement in the development of new strategies of more cost-effective and robust NMNP synthesis methods that provide materials with highly tunable physicochemical, optical and thermal properties, and biochemical functionalities. As a result, new advanced hybrid NMNPs with polymer, graphene, carbon nanotubes, quantum dots and core–shell systems have been developed with even more enhanced physicochemical characteristics that has led to exceptional diagnostic and therapeutic applications. In this review, we aim to summarize current advances in the synthesis of NMNPs (Au, Ag and Pt).

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Mycotoxins found in randomly selected commercial milk thistle dietary supplement were evaluated for their toxicity in silico and in vitro. Using in silico methods, the basic physicochemical, pharmacological, and toxicological properties of the mycotoxins were predicted using ACD/Percepta. The in vitro cytotoxicity of individual mycotoxins was determined in mouse macrophage (RAW 264.7), human hepatoblastoma (HepG2), and human embryonic kidney (HEK 293T) cells. In addition, we studied the bioavailability potential of mycotoxins and silibinin utilizing an in vitro transwell system with differentiated human colon adenocarcinoma cells (Caco-2) simulating mycotoxin transfer through the intestinal epithelial barrier. The IC50 values for individual mycotoxins in studied cells were in the biologically relevant ranges as follows: 3.57–13.37 nM (T-2 toxin), 5.07–47.44 nM (HT-2 toxin), 3.66–17.74 nM (diacetoxyscirpenol). Furthermore, no acute toxicity was obtained for deoxynivalenol, beauvericin, zearalenone, enniatinENN-A, enniatin-A1, enniatin-B, enniatin-B1, alternariol, alternariol-9-methyl ether, tentoxin, and mycophenolic acid up to the 50 nM concentration. The acute toxicity of these mycotoxins in binary combinations exhibited antagonistic effects in the combinations of T-2 with DON, ENN-A1, or ENN-B, while the rest showed synergistic or additive effects. Silibinin had a significant protective effect against both the cytotoxicity of three mycotoxins (T-2 toxin, HT-2 toxin, DAS) and genotoxicity of AME, AOH, DON, and ENNs on HEK 293T. The bioavailability results confirmed that AME, DAS, ENN-B, TEN, T-2, and silibinin are transported through the epithelial cell layer and further metabolized. The bioavailability of silibinin is very similar to mycotoxins poor penetration.