Plant Uptake of Non-Ionic Organic Chemicals

Abstract

Plant uptake of organic chemicals is an important process when considering the risks associated with land contamination, the role of vegetation in the global cycling of persistent organic pollutants, and the potential for industrial discharges to contaminate the food chain. There have been some significant advances in our understanding of the processes of plant uptake of organic chemicals in recent years; most notably there is now a better understanding of the air to plant transfer pathway, which may be significant for a number of industrial chemicals. This review identifies the key processes involved in the plant uptake of organic chemicals including those for which there is currently little information, e.g., plant lipid content and plant metabolism. One of the principal findings is that although a number of predictive models exist using established relationships, these require further validation if they are to be considered sufficiently robust for the purposes of contaminated land risk assessment or for prediction of the global cycling of persistent organic pollutants. Finally, a number of processes are identified which should be the focus of future research.

Uptake, Translocation, and Metabolism of 8:2 Fluorotelomer Alcohol in Soybean (Glycine max L. Merrill)

“…If only the process of uptake occurs, the parent and metabolite concentrations in plants should finally approach equilibrium. 36 However, results of this study showed that levels of 8:2 FTOH, 8:2 FTCA, 8:2 FTUCA, and 7:2 sFTOH in different soybean tissues clearly decreased after reaching a peak level. These patterns indicated that 8:2 FTOH could be degraded to intermediates and further to stable degradation products in soybean.…”

Levels and distribution of methoxylated and hydroxylated polybrominated diphenyl ethers in plant and soil samples surrounding a seafood processing factory and a seafood market

“…Plants play an important role in the terrestrial ecosystem. The uptake and metabolism of organic contaminants in the environment frequently occurred in plants and represent the first step of the food chain (Collins et al, 2006). Plant uptake of PBDEs was already observed (Tian et al, 2012), however, there have been few studies on the fate of OH-PBDEs and MeOPBDEs in environmental plants.…”

IN VITRO PHYTOREMEDIATION OF PERSISTENT ORGANIC POLLUTANTS BY Helianthus annuus L. PLANTS

“…29 The most likely hypothesis of POPs accumulation is the direct transport from the roots to the xylema through apoplastic and symplastic movement and subsequent translocation to other organs, similarly to water and nutrient absorption. 30 Naturally, non polar pollutants can be solubilized in water and absorbed by plants. Matsumoto et al 31 proposed that root eliminated compounds of low molecular weight, such as citric acid, organic acids and proteins can increase POPs solubility.…”