Cd enrichment and nutrient variation in pine willow

Abstract

Heavy metals can be enriched by some vegetables. However, it is not well known about their impacts on nutritional quality of vegetables. In this study, a kind of vegetable, pine willow (Lathyrus quinquenervius) grown hydroponically in simulated Cd contaminated culture was used to investigate both metal accumulation and its influences on nutrient content variation and growth. The results show that under Cd stress, the biomass, K, Ca, Zn and β-carotene of pine willow sprouts decreased significantly, while vitamin E and vitamin C increased slightly. Cd can be sharply enriched by pine willow shoots rather than roots. This study implies that it is absolutely necessary to remove Cd from irrigation water in order to avoid problems of both food safety and nutritional quality of pine willow sprouts.