The present study was conducted to assess morphological, biochemical and yield responses of palak (Beta vulgaris L. cv Allgreen) to ambient and elevated levels of CO2 and O3, alone and in combination. As compared to the plants grown in charcoal filtered air (ACO2), growth and yield of the plants increased under elevated CO2 (ECO2) and decreased under combination of ECO2 with elevated O3 (ECO2 + EO3), ambient O3 (ACO2 + AO3) and elevated O3 (EO3). Lipid peroxidation, ascorbic acid, catalase and glutathione reductase activities enhanced under all treatments and were highest in EO3. Foliar starch and organic carbon contents increased under ECO2 and ECO2 + EO3 and reduced under EO3 and ACO2 + AO3. Foliar N content declined in all treatments compared to ACO2 resulting in alteration of C/N ratio. This study concludes that ambient level of CO2 is not enough to counteract O3 impact, but elevated CO2 has potential to counteract the negative effects of future O3 level.

The impact of residual PAHs (2250 ± 71 μg total PAHs g−1) following enhanced natural attenuation (ENA) of creosote-contaminated soil (7767 ± 1286 μg total PAHs g−1) was assessed using a variety of ecological assays. Microtox™ results for aqueous soil extracts indicated that there was no significant difference in EC50 values for uncontaminated, pre- and post-remediated soil. However, in studies conducted with Eisenia fetida, PAH bioaccumulation was reduced by up to 6.5-fold as a result of ENA. Similarly, Beta vulgaris L. biomass yields were increased 2.1-fold following ENA of creosote-contaminated soil. While earthworm and plant assays indicated that PAH bioavailability was reduced following ENA, the residual PAH fraction still exerted toxicological impacts on both receptors. Results from this study highlight that residual PAHs following ENA (presumably non-bioavailable to bioremediation) may still be bioavailable to important receptor organisms such as earthworms and plants. Residual PAHs in creosote-contaminated soil following enhanced natural attenuation impacted negatively on ecological receptors.

Anemia is a public health problem that affects many people worldwide. Beetroot (Beta vulgaris) is a plant supposed to have many healthy features. The present study was done to evaluate the anti-anemic effect of beetroot supplement on anemia induced by phenylhydrazine in albino rats. Fifty rats were randomly divided into five equal groups. The control group was kept normal rats. In the second group, anemia was induced in rats by intraperitoneal injection of phenylhydrazine at 60 mg/kg in 3 divided doses daily, for 3 consecutive days. The last three groups received phenylhydrazine as the anemic group. Then, the third group received beetroot extract in dose 200 mg/kg for 24 days. The fourth group received beetroot powder in dose 1000 mg/kg for 24 days. The last group received iron (III) hydroxide polymaltose complex in dose 5mg/kg for 24 days. Our results showed that hemolytic anemia induced by phenylhydrazine in rats caused alteration in the blood picture, iron indices, serum biochemical parameters, antioxidant biomarkers, and histopathological picture. However, the supplementation with beetroot ameliorated these alterations, especially beetroot powder which showed powerful health effects compared to beetroot extract and iron preparation.

The present study was designed to investigate the nephrotoxicity of silver nanoparticles (AgNPs; 80 mg/kg; > 100 nm) and to evaluate the protective effect exercised by Beta vulgaris (beetroot) juice (RBR; 200 mg/kg) on male rats’ kidney. Serum-specific parameters (urea, creatinine, electrolytes and histopathology of kidney tissue) were examined to assess the AgNPs nephrotoxicity effect. Moreover, this study analysed oxidative stress (lipid peroxidation, glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase) and anti-apoptotic markers (Bcl-2). AgNPs intoxication increased kidney function marker levels and lipid peroxidation and decreased the glutathione, superoxide dismutase and catalase activities in kidney tissue. Additionally, Bcl-2 expression was downregulated following AgNPs intoxication. Moreover, AgNPs induced a significant increase in renal DNA damage displayed as an elevation in tail length, tail DNA percentage and tail moment. Interestingly, RBR post-treatment restored the biochemical and histological alterations induced by AgNPs exposure, reflecting its nephroprotective effect. Collectively, the present data suggest that RBR could be used as a potential therapeutic intervention to prevent AgNPs-induced nephrotoxicity.

Previous researches have confirmed that modified nanoscale carbon black (MCB) can decrease the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil and accumulation in plant tissues, resulting in the increase of biomass of plant. However, as a nanoparticle, the effects of MCB on plant cell morphology and microbial communities in Cd-contaminated soil are poorly understood. This study, through greenhouse experiments, investigated the effects of MCB as an amendment for 5 mg·kg⁻¹ Cd-contaminated soil on plant growth, plant cellular morphogenesis, and microbial communities. Two types of plants, metal-tolerant plant ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum), and hyperaccumulator plant chard (Beta vulgaris L. var. cicla) were selected. The results indicated that adding MCB to Cd-contaminated soil, the dry biomass of shoot ryegrass and chard increased by 1.07 and 1.05 times, respectively, comparing with control group (the treatment without MCB). Meanwhile, the physiological characteristics of plant root denoted that adding MCB reduced the damage caused by Cd to plants. The acid phosphatase activity of soils treated with MBC was higher and the dehydrogenase activity was lower than control group during whole 50 days of incubation, while the urease and catalase activity of soils treated with MBC were higher than control group after 25 days of incubation. When compared with the treatment without MCB, the abundances of nitrogen-functional bacteria (Rhodospirillum and Nitrospira) and phosphorus-functional bacteria (Bradyrhizobium and Flavobacterium) increased but that of nitrogen-functional bacteria, Nitrososphaera, declined. The presence of MCB resulted in increased microbial community abundance by reducing the bioavailability of heavy metals in soil, while increasing the abundance of plants by increasing the amount of available nitrogen in soil. The result of this study suggests that MCB could be applied to the in-situ immobilization of heavy metal in contaminated soils because of its beneficial effects on plants growth, root cellular morphogenesis, and microbial community.

Aluminum (Al) is a major constraint for plant growth by inducing inhibition of root elongation in acid soils around the world. Besides, drought is another major abiotic stress that adversely affects growth and productivity of agricultural crops. The plant growth–promoting (PGP) rhizobacterial strains are useful choice to decrease these stressful effects and is now extensively in practice. However, the use of bacterial inoculation has not been attempted for the mitigation of Al stress in plants growing at high Al levels under drought stress. Therefore, in the present study, Al- and drought-tolerant bacterial strains were isolated from Lactuca sativa and Beta vulgaris rhizospheric soils. Among the bacterial isolates, two strains, CAM12 and CAH6, were selected based on their ability to tolerate high levels of Al (8 mM) and drought (15% PEG-6000, w/v) stresses. The bacterial strains CAM12 and CAH6 were identified as Bacillus megaterium and Pantoea agglomerans, respectively, by 16S rRNA gene sequence homology. Moreover, both strains showed multiple PGP traits even in the presence of abiotic stresses. In the pot experiments, inoculation of the strains CAM12 and CAH6 as individually or as included in a consortium improved the Vigna radiata growth under abiotic stress conditions and reduced Al uptake in plants. However, the most effective treatment was seen with bacterial consortium that allowed the plants to tolerate abiotic stress effectively and achieved better growth. These results indicate that bacterial consortium could be used as a bio-inoculant for enhancing V. radiata growth in soil with high Al levels subjected to drought conditions.

In the present study, sugar beet mud (SBM) and pulp (SBP) produced as a waste by-products of the sugar industry were mixed with cattle dung (CD) at different ratios on dry weight basis for vermicomposting with Eisenia fetida. Minimum mortality and highest population of worms were observed in 20:80 (SBM₂₀) mixture of SBM and 10:90 (SBP₁₀) ratios. However, increased percentages of wastes significantly affected the growth and fecundity of worms. Nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus, sodium, increased from initial feed mixture to final products (i.e., vermicompost), while organic carbon (OC), C:N ratio and electrical conductivity (EC) declined in all the products of vermicomposting. Although there was an increase in the contents of all the heavy metals except copper, chromium, and iron in SBM, the contents were less than the international standards for compost which indicates that the vermicompost can be used in the fields without any ill effects on the soil. Allium cepa root chromosomal aberration assay was used to evaluate the genotoxicity of pre- and post-vermicomposted SBM to understand the effect of vermicomposting on the reduction of toxicity. Genotoxicity analysis of post-vermicomposted samples of SBM revealed 18–75 % decline in the aberration frequencies. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was recorded to identify the changes in texture in the control and vermicomposted samples. The vermicomposted mixtures in the presence of earthworms confirm more numerous surface irregularities that prove to be good manure.