Accumulation of potassium, calcium and magnesium by selected species of grassland legumes and herbs

Abstract

The study was conducted in 1998-2000, in the Olsztyn Lakeland, on permanent grassland communities with at least 5% share of the following leguminous and herbaceous species. Trifolium pratense, Trifolium repens, Lotus corniculatus, Lathyrus pratensis, Lotus uliginosus, Vicia cracca, Taraxacum officnale, Achillea millefolium, Plantago lanceolata, Alchemilla vulgaris, Heracleum sibiricum and Cirsium oleraceum. In total, 444 plant samples were analyzed, including 123 collected on organic soils. The objective of this study was to determine the accumulation of potassium, calcium and magnesium by selected species of grassland legumes and herbs, in view of the abundance of the above elements in soil. The analyzed organic soils were characterized by low abundance of potassium and moderate abundance of magnesium, whereas the mineral soils had a very low or low potassium content and a very high or high magnesium content. The habitats varied widely with respect to the calcium abundance. The biomass of the analyzed plant species contained high concentrations of potassium, magnesium and calcium. Plants collected from mineral soils contained more potassium and less magnesium than those growing on organic soils. Taraxacum officinale and Achillea millefolium were rich in potassium, Achillea millefolium, Lotus uliginosus, Heracleum sibiricum, Vicia cracca, Taraxacum officinale and Cirsium oleraceum had a high magnesium content, whereas Cirsium oleraceum, Heracleum sibiricum and Alchemilla vulgaris accumulated the largest amounts of calcium. The ability of dicotyledonous plants to accumulate high concentrations of calcium and magnesium resulted in a low K:(Ca+Mg) ratio.

Evaluation of health promoting properties and quality of herbal teas obtained from fine-grained fraction of herbs

“…The highest concentration of this metal 0.211 mg•kg -1 , was found in chamomile. Results of the performed analyses comply with studies of other authors who found that, depending of the species, plant organ and harvesting site, herbs are likely to contain trace or larger amounts of cadmium; however, never exceeding 0.3 mg•kg -1 of dry matter (Rozporządzenie Ministra Zdrowia, 2003;Blicharska et al, 2008;Grzegorczyk et al, 2013). All the investigated herbal infusions showed, from the point of view of nutrition, a significant total polyphenol content, ranging from 323.84 to 752.84 mgGAE•cm -3 ( Figure 1).…”

“…They also reduce the risk of cancer, diabetes, athero-sclerosis and nervous system and cardiovascular diseases. Products with high content of phenolic compounds, such as fruits and vegetables, green tea or some herbs, consumed as part of a daily sustainable diet, may produce health promoting effects (Scalbert et al, 2005;Grzegorczyk et al, 2013;Raza et al, 2013;Kozak at al., 2016).…”

“…Tests for the microbial evaluation of herbal teas have shown that they may be significantly polluted with various types of bacterial micro-flora, depending on the content of plants included in dried herbal blends. It should be borne in mind, however, that levels of microbial populations permitted in herbal raw materials were specified in the guidelines to Pharmacopoeia, which ensures a high quality of products with herb content (Lasik et al, 2007;Almajano et al, 2008;Rusaczonek et al, 2010;Grzegorczyk et al, 2013).…”

Accumulation of potassium, calcium and magnesium by selected species of grassland legumes and herbs

“…Habitat conditions have a significant effect on the quantitative and qualitative composition of grassland communities comprising numerous species of grasses, legumes, sedges (Cyperaceae), herbs and weeds. The characteristics of grassland habitats are an important consideration since they affect the chemical composition of green forage (TR¥BA, WY£UPEK 1998, TRZASKOOE et al 1998, TR¥BA, WOLAÑSKI 2003, GRZEGORCZYK et al 2004, 2011. According to TR¥BA (1997), forage obtained from grasslands with a high share of dicotyledonous plant species is a rich source of phosphorus, magnesium, calcium and sodium, but it has a low potassium content.…”

Ways of increasing the magnesium content in sward from a long-term fertilizer experiment

“…Numerous investigations indicate the risk of depleting soil magnesium resources if this element is not returned to soil, especially when large doses of nitrogen or potassium diversify and stimulate plant communities, thus raising several-fold the uptake of magnesium with the plant yield (WiśnioWska-kielian, stępień-olkuśnik 2001, Hejcman et al 2006, Burzyńska 2009, grzegorczyk et al 2013, kopeć and gondek 2015.…”