We investigated effects of Ag2S engineered nanomaterials (ENMs), polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) coated Ag ENMs (PVP-Ag), and Ag+ on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), their colonization of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), and overall microbial community structure in biosolids-amended soil. Concentration-dependent uptake was measured in all treatments. Plants exposed to 100 mg kg−1 PVP-Ag ENMs and 100 mg kg−1 Ag+ exhibited reduced biomass and greatly reduced mycorrhizal colonization. Bacteria, actinomycetes and fungi were inhibited by all treatment classes, with the largest reductions measured in 100 mg kg−1 PVP-Ag ENMs and 100 mg kg−1 Ag+. Overall, Ag2S ENMs were less toxic to plants, less disruptive to plant-mycorrhizal symbiosis, and less inhibitory to the soil microbial community than PVP-Ag ENMs or Ag+. However, significant effects were observed at 1 mg kg−1 Ag2S ENMs, suggesting that the potential exists for microbial communities and the ecosystem services they provide to be disrupted by environmentally relevant concentrations of Ag2S ENMs.

Accumulation of metals by plants is an important area of investigation in plant ecology and evolution as well as in soil contamination/phytoremediation practices. This paper reports that hormetic-biphasic dose-response relationships were commonly observed for multiple agents (i.e. arsenic, cadmium, chromium, fluoride, lead, and zinc) and 20 species in plant (hyper)accumulator studies. The hormetic stimulation was related to metal accumulation in affected tissues, with the metal stimulation concentration zone unique for each metal, species, tissue, and endpoint studied. However, quantitative features of the hormetic dose response were similar across all (hyper)accumulation studies, with results independent of plant species, endpoints measured, and metal. The dose-dependent stimulatory and inhibitory/toxic plant responses were often associated with the up- and down-regulation of adaptive mechanisms, especially those involving anti-oxidative enzymatic processes. These findings provide a mechanistic framework to account for both the qualitative and quantitative features of the hormetic dose response in plant (hyper)accumulator studies.

In this study, element content and health risk of the most popular herbs from Iran were evaluated. The samples of raw materials from 30 different herbs were purchased from the local markets of Iran. The concentration levels of some elements including macroelements (N, P, K, Ca, and Mg), micronutrients (Fe, Zn, Cu, Mn, and Na), and heavy metals (Cd, Ni, and Pb) of studied herbs were evaluated. The potential of health risks was calculated by Estimated Daily Intake (EDI), Target Hazard Quotient (THQ), and Hazard Index (HI). The analysis of variance (ANOVA) is used to test a hypothesis about differences between the mean values. The highest levels of Ca (20,000 ± 26.3 mg/kg), Mg (9600 ± 45.4 mg/kg), N (59,955 ± 11.55 mg/kg), P (6544 ± 20 mg/kg), and K (56,563.2 ± 18 mg/kg) were found in Zataria multiflora, Malva sylvestris, Acasia arbus, Cannabis sativa, and Amomum subulatum, respectively. In addition, the highest concentration levels of Fe (987 ± 75.27 mg/kg), Zn (1187.5 ± 10 mg/kg), Cu (64.2 ± 2 mg/kg), Mn (272.3 ± 66.62 mg/kg), and Na (2658.8 ± 20.3 mg/kg) were recorded in Bunium persicum, Peganum harmala, Papaver somniferum, Alpinia officinalis, and Cuminum cyminum, respectively. Acasia arbus, Anethum graveolens, and Malva sylvestris showed the highest concentration of Ni (6.07 ± 0.04 mg/kg), Cd (1.64 ± 0.16 mg/kg), and Pb (9.27 ± 0.25 mg/kg). Based on performed health risk assessment on the studied plants, EDI, THQ, and HI values of all of them were less than 1. This study indicated that there were several harmful elements in the herbs. The healthier plant species are those with the least concentration of Pb, Ni, and Cd, which include Vitex agnus-custus and Teucrium polium. On the other hand, the toxic plants with a higher concentration of Pb, Ni, and Cd included Malva sylvestris, Acasia arbus, and Anethum graveolens. In addition, evaluation of human risk assessment is an important factor for investigating the concentration of heavy metals harmful for human beings.