Toxicity Assessment of Cerium Oxide Nanoparticles in Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.) Plants Grown in Organic Soil

Abstract

Studies have shown that CeO₂ nanoparticles (NPs) can be accumulated in plants without modification, which could pose a threat for human health. In this research, cilantro (Coriandrum sativum L.) plants were germinated and grown for 30 days in soil amended with 0 to 500 mg kg⁻¹ CeO₂ NPs and analyzed by spectroscopic techniques and biochemical assays. At 125 mg kg⁻¹, plants produced longer roots (p ≤ 0.05), and at 500 mg kg⁻¹, there was higher Ce accumulation in tissues (p ≤ 0.05). At 125 mg, catalase activity significantly increased in shoots and ascorbate peroxidase in roots (p ≤ 0.05). The FTIR analyses revealed that at 125 mg kg⁻¹ the CeO₂ NPs changed the chemical environment of carbohydrates in cilantro shoots, for which changes in the area of the stretching frequencies were observed. This suggests that the CeO₂ NPs could change the nutritional properties of cilantro.

Environmental release, fate and ecotoxicological effects of manufactured ceria nanomaterials

“…Notably, this study was conducted in cell culture and more investigation in soil-based systems will be needed. In a final soil study, Morales et al 85 noted that nanoceria at concentrations up to 500 mg/kg had no impact on cilantro shoot biomass and in some instances, increased root growth. However, the authors did report FTIR-detected changes in carbohydrate chemistry, which raises the potential for altered nutritional content in edible tissues.…”

Uptake, translocation and physiological effects of magnetic iron oxide (γ-Fe2O3) nanoparticles in corn (Zea mays L.)

“…In contrast, other studies have reported that NPs, such as TiO 2 , cerium oxide (CeO 2 ), zinc oxide (ZnO), g-Fe 2 O 3 , could also cause damage in plants, including decreases in photosynthesis efficiency (Lei et al, 2007;Ze et al, 2011), chlorophyll degradation, total protein reduction (Krystofova et al, 2013;Zhao et al, 2013), as well as micro and macro-nutrient displacement Zhao et al, 2014a). Oxidative stresses caused by NPs could activate defense mechanisms to counteract nanotoxicity in plants ( Morales et al, 2013;Rico et al, 2013;Servin et al, 2013). Many publications have reported the main reason of toxicity upon NPs exposure, but results were contradictory.…”

Toxicity of Nanomaterials to Plants

“…Also, SiO 2 nanoparticles can increase root length at 400 mg/L (Lee et al 2010) and CeO 2 nanoparticle suspensions promoted the root growth of corn and cucumber, even though the germination rate declined (Lopez-Moreno et al 2010). Cilantro grown in organic potting soil had longer shoots and larger roots with CeO 2 nanoparticles (Morales et al 2013). Arabidopsis grown in MS media containing Al 2 O 3 nanoparticles had longer roots (Lee et al 2010) and TiO 2 nanoparticles can also increase the chlorophyll content of Arabidopsis (Lenaghan et al 2013).…”

“…Toxicity assessment of CeO 2 nanoparticles in cilantro grown in organic soil showed that the activity of catalyze and ascorbate peroxidase increased significantly only at a concentration 125 mg/kg (Morales et al 2013). Four edible plants, including alfalfa, corn, cucumber, and tomato, show differential responses to CeO 2 nanoparticles (Lopez-Moreno et al 2010).…”