Solidago canadensis as a bioaccumulator and phytoremediator of Pb and Zn

Abstract

Canadian goldenrod (Solidago canadensis L.) is a plant that grows in a variety of environmental conditions. It shows high capability to spread in various habitats, including fallow lands and brownfield land. The research aimed at analyzing the content of Pb and Zn in the underground (roots, rhizomes) and aboveground parts (stems, leaves, inflorences) of Solidago canadensis (SC) originating from two locations that are clearly different in terms of metal content in soil. Statistically significant differences were determined in the content of Pb and Zn in soil and particular morphological parts of the plant, depending on the sampling location. It has been shown that in the conditions of increased (compared with natural) Pb and Zn content in the soil, SC may serve as a bioaccumulator of these metals. It was determined that SC can be used as a phytostabilizer of Pb and Zn in soils heavily contaminated with these elements. The content of Zn in the aboveground parts of SC indicates that this plant can also be used for phytoextraction of soils contaminated with this metal.

Solidago virgaurea L.: A Review of Its Ethnomedicinal Uses, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacological Activities

“…It has also been proposed to be used as a rotation crop as a means of containing noxious weeds in an organic agriculture context [35]. Solidago spp., including S. virgaurea, have been claimed to have potential utility for phytoremediation purposes, based on their ability to transfer iron from soil to plants near iron processing industrial sites [35]; however, studies on other oligo-elements (such as zinc) have not identified particular hyperaccumulator properties for the plant [52], and whereas a number of papers have been published on the phytoremediation potential of S. canadensis [53,54], we could find none on S. virgaurea. The pollen of the latter is of good quality, and its availability may contribute to long-lived bees, able to survive a hard winter [55].…”

“…Extracts of S. virgaurea contain C6-C1 glycosides (virgaureoside, leiocarposide) and aglycones (vanillic acid, gallic acid) [4,9,[56][57][58], C6-C3 polyphenolic acids (caffeic, chlorogenic, ferulic, synapic, 3-hydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic, homovanilic, acids) [3,9,10,45,[53][54][55][56][57], a number of flavonoid molecules (mostly quercetin and kaempferol glycosides, as well as the free aglycons and small amounts of cyanidin derivatives) [3,4,9,45,49,59,60,[63][64][65][66][67], oleanane-type triterpene saponins [9,[68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75], essential oils containing and monoterpenes (alpha-and beta-pinene, myrcene, limonene, sabinene) [35,[76][77][78][79] and sesquiterpenes (germacrene D β-caryophyllene, α-humulene,), clerodane-type diterpenes [80], polysaccharides [81], and polyacetylenes [82] (tab. 1).…”

Negative and positive aspects of the presence of Canadian goldenrod in the environment

“…The high tolerance of S. canadensis to soil contaminated with heavy metals and the accumulation of selected metals in the aboveground and underground parts of the plant can be used in the phytoremediation of contaminated soils. In polluted soils, the plant shows a particular tendency to accumulate Pb [Yang et al 2008;Xiang et al 2010;Antonijević et al 2012;Bielecka, Królak 2019a], Cd [Dąbrowska et al 2017], Hg [Tomiyasu et al 2005] and Cu [Antonijević et al 2012;Bielecka, Królak 2019b] in its underground parts. Research carried out in the vicinity of Olkusz, Poland (a region particularly contaminated with Pb and Zn), showed that S. canadensis accumulates, on average, 520 g Pb/ha (maximum about 3,500 g Pb/ha) and about 450 g Zn/ha (max.…”

“…Research carried out in the vicinity of Olkusz, Poland (a region particularly contaminated with Pb and Zn), showed that S. canadensis accumulates, on average, 520 g Pb/ha (maximum about 3,500 g Pb/ha) and about 450 g Zn/ha (max. 2,500 g/ha) in its underground parts [Bielecka, Królak 2019a]. Therefore, it can act as a phytostabiliser for these metals.…”

“…This is especially important in the case of goldenrod presence in landfills abundant in fine-grained fractions rich in heavy metals. The plant also has a tendency to transform some metals, such as Zn [Dąbrowska et al 2017;Bielecka, Królak 2019a] and Mn [Antonijević et al 2012;Bielecka, Królak 2019b], in its aboveground parts. For example, Canadian goldenrod in the Olkusz area accumulates, on average, about 470 g Zn/ha (max.…”