Effect Of Lead Treatment Research Articles

Effect of lead treatment on the stipe and leaflet anatomy of Pteris vittata and Pityrogramma calomelanos (Pteridaceae: fern)

The effect of various concentrations of Lead on stipe and leaflet anatomy of Pteris vittata and Pityrogramma calomelanos were investigated. Fernlets were transplanted into 5 kg pots of soil pre-treated with five different concentrations of Lead, adequately watered and arranged in a complete randomized design in the screen house. Pots with no Lead treatment served as control. At twelve weeks after planting, plants were carefully removed, washed and taken to the laboratory. Anatomical sections of leaflets and stipe of each of the treatments were carried out with a sledge microtome (10-15 μm). Microscopic observations of structures were made after staining the sections. In Pteris vittata, the thickness of the cuticle of the stipe increased with increasing Lead concentrations but the reverse of this was observed in Pityrogamma calomelanos. There was also significant reduction of epidermal and mesophyll cell area of both species with increasing Lead concentrations. It can be concluded from this study that P. vittata has a higher tolerance level to Lead than Pityrogramma calomelanos.
 Key words: Anatomy, Cuticle thickness, Ferns, Lead, Pteridaceae.

Lead induced changes in growth and micronutrient uptake of Jatropha curcas L.

Effects of lead treatment on growth and micronutrient uptake in Jatropha curcas L. seedlings were assessed by means of microcosm experiments. Results suggested that superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased with increasing lead concentration. There was significant positive correlation between lead treatment concentration and SOD and peroxidase activity. Catalase activity was initiated under lower lead stress but, was inhibited under higher lead exposure. Lead had a stimulating effect on seedlings height and leaf area at lower lead concentrations. The J. curcas can accumulate higher amounts of available lead from soil but can translocate only low amounts to the shoots. Results indicating SOD and peroxidase activity in J. curcas seedlings played an important role in resisting the oxidative stress induced by lead. The addition of lead significantly increased the content of zinc in plant tissue and enhanced the transport of iron from roots to shoots but contributed to a decrease in measured copper, iron, and manganese content.

Effect of lead treatment on medicarpin accumulation and on the gene expression of key enzymes involved in medicarpin biosynthesis in Medicago sativa L.

Lead (Pb) is the most common heavy metal contaminant in the environment. The present study was undertaken to determine the effect of Pb treatment on medicarpin production and accumulation in Medicago sativa L. To this aim, 7- and 30-day-old plants were treated with 0, 120, 240, 500, and 1,000 μM Pb during 10 days. The content of medicarpin was determined by HPLC, and the extent of medicarpin production was deduced from the result of semiquantitative RT-PCR performed on PAL, CHS, and VR genes. HPLC results indicated that medicarpin concentration has been reduced in the roots, while its exudation to the culture medium has been increased. RT-PCR results indicated that the transcript levels of PAL, CHS, and VR genes have not been affected following Pb stress in seedlings. At the vegetative stage, transcript levels of PAL and CHS genes have been reduced in the roots. However, the transcript level of VR gene increased at 120 and 240 μM Pb, while it decreased at higher concentrations. In the shoot, the transcript levels of PAL, CHS, and VR genes were increased following increased concentration of lead in the medium. Overall, q-PCR results suggest that medicarpin biosynthesis has been induced in the shoots and reduced in the roots of the plants treated with a toxic concentration of Pb.

Effects of short-term and subchronic lead poisoning on nitric oxide methabolites and vascular responsiveness in rat

Chronic exposure to low levels of lead results in sustained hypertension in humans and experimental animals. The mechanism of lead-induced hypertension remains unclear. We investigated the short-term (4 and 8 weeks) and subchronic (12 weeks) effects of lead treatment on responsiveness of vascular adrenergic system and level of nitric oxide metabolites, that is, total nitrates and nitrites (NOx). Male Sprague–Dawley rats were treated with lead acetate (100 ppm in drinking water) for 12 weeks. Short-term lead administration resulted in marked elevation of blood pressure accompanied by significant reduction in serum NOx levels. In contrast, after subchronic lead administration the trend of decrease in NOx levels somehow reversed despite further increase in blood pressure. Both short-term and subchronic lead administration resulted in significant differences in vascular reactivity with respect to either vasoconstrictor (phenylephrine and clonidine) or vasodilator (isoproterenol) agents. We conclude that vascular adrenergic system and nitric oxide pathway change in short-term and subchronic phases of lead poisoning.

Lead-induced catalase activity differentially modulates behaviors induced by short-chain alcohols

Acute lead administration produces a transient increase in brain catalase activity. This effect of lead has been used to assess the involvement of brain ethanol metabolism, and therefore centrally formed acetaldehyde, in the behavioral actions of ethanol. In mice, catalase is involved in ethanol and methanol metabolism, but not in the metabolism of other alcohols such as l-propanol or tert-butanol. In the present study, we assessed the specificity of the effects of lead acetate on catalase-mediated metabolism of alcohols, and the ability of lead to modulate the locomotion and loss of the righting reflex (LRR) induced by 4 different short-chain alcohols. Animals were pretreated IP with lead acetate (100 mg/kg) or saline, and 7 days later were injected IP with ethanol (2.5 or 4.5 g/kg), methanol (2.5 or 6.0 g/kg), 1-propanol (0.5 or 2.5 g/kg) or tert-butanol (0.5 or 2.0 g/kg) for locomotion and LRR, respectively. Locomotion induced by ethanol was significantly potentiated in lead-treated mice, while methanol-induced locomotion was reduced by lead treatment. The loss of righting reflex induced by ethanol was shorter in lead-treated mice, and lead produced the opposite effect in methanol-treated mice. There was no effect of lead on 1-propanol or tert-butanol-induced behaviors. Lead treatment was effective in inducing catalase activity and protein both in liver and brain. These results support the hypothesis that the effects of lead treatment on ethanol-induced behaviors are related to changes in catalase activity, rather than some nonspecific effect that generalizes to all alcohols.

Effect of lead treatment on the distribution of essential elements in cucumber

Changes in the fresh and dry weight of leaf blades, petioles, internodes, and their ion concentrations as well as rates of root exudation were investigated in cucumber grown in hydroponic culture and treated with physiological concentrations of lead (Pb). The growth of flowering cucumber supplied with FeCl3 shows a typical bell‐shaped curve derived from leaf dry weights, where the 4th, 5th, and 6th leaves are the largest ones. Lead inhibited growth up to 20% (except the youngest leaves which were stimulated), but did not cause morphological changes. Whereas root growth was also retarded by about 20%, exudation was inhibited to 50%, that is, the root resistance to water transport was increased by Pb. In spite of that the dry matter yield of internodes and petioles hardly reached 10 and 5% of that of leaf blades, respectively, their calcium (Ca), magnesium (Mg), and zinc (Zn) concentrations were almost the same. Similarly, the concentrations of these metals in the specific leaf blades are equal despite their different growth characteristics but the concentration of Mn is independent of the growth of the examined tissues. Lead was the only cation to accumulate in the largest leaves. The inhibitory effect of Pb on ion uptake was proportional to the growth inhibition of the tissues except manganese (Mn), the accumulation of which was stimulated by Pb in all the analyzed tissues and copper (Cu) which increased only in the internodes. We could not explain the extremely different ion distributions observed during the growth of cucumber. However, it is evident that the measurement of ion concentrations at whole shoot level is not enough to characterize ion interactions because only some ions accumulate at the same rate as tissues grow. These ions maintain stable concentration levels in shoot parts whereas others decrease or increase independently from growth.

Effects on growth and uptake of broad beans (Vicia fabae L.) by root and foliar treatments of plant with lead and cadmium

Abstract Uptake of toxic metals by plants has been of great interest to environmental scientists because this might harm the growth of plant and cause health hazard to man and animal. In this study, the effects of two elements (lead and cadmium) which cause high concern because of their cummulative nature have been studied on broad beans. Both elements have been found to affect the growth of broad beans and this effect increased with the increase of concentration of metal in solutions used for root‐treatment or for foliar‐treatment of plant. The effect of foliar‐treatment was very much higher than the effect of root‐treatment by lead or cadmium. Cadmium was found more toxic to plant growth than lead. The effect of cadmium treatment was more on the growth of fruits while the effect of lead treatment was more on the roots of broad beans. The least affected part by lead or cadmium was the stem of plant. Both the concentration and the whole content of metal in plants and its varoius parts (roots, stem, leaves...

Effects of lead treatment on intracellular iron and copper concentrations in cultured astroglia.

Astroglia are implicated in the pathogenesis of lead (Pb) neurotoxicity in two capacities: as a lead sink that sequesters lead and as a target for direct cellular damage. A proposed cellular mechanism of Pb neurotoxicity is the alteration of metal concentrations, particularly the intracellular accumulation of Cu2+. We measured Pb uptake and the effects of Pb acetate on intracellular trace metal concentrations in astroglial cultures prepared from 0- to 4-day-old rat cerebral hemispheres. Mature Sprague Dawley and immature Wistar rat astroglia in culture took up lead from the medium. This finding replicates in vitro the finding reported by others that astroglia in the brain take up Pb. Intracellular Cu and Fe concentrations (micrograms per 2 x 10(6) cells) were increased fourfold or more by treatment with 100 microM Pb for 3 days in the cultures of immature astroglia. Cu levels were also increased twofold or more in mature astroglia treated for 1-3 days with 100 microM Pb. The significance of this finding is that Cu is a potent inhibitor of Na+, K+-ATPase, an enzyme by which astroglia are thought to remove K+ from the extracellular fluid in the brain. Thus, this finding supports the hypothesis that elevated [Cu], and perhaps [Fe], is a subcellular mechanism of neurotoxicity.

Effect of combined exposure to lead and ethanol on some biochemical indices in the rat

We investigated the effect of daily oral administration to young rats of lead (10 mg/kg) and ethanol (10%, v/v, in drinking water), either alone or in combination, for 8 weeks on the uptake of lead in tissues, brain biogenic amines, hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase and cytosolic and mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase and some selected lead-sensitive variables. Lead given in combination with ethanol produced more pronounced inhibition in the activities of hepatic glutamic oxalacetic transaminase (GOT) and glutamic pyruvic transaminase (GPT) as compared to lead alone treatment. Simultaneous exposure to lead and ethanol produced a greater depression of dopamine (DA) and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) levels in the whole brain of rats, compared to rats treated with lead alone. The concentrations of lead in blood, liver and brain were significantly higher in rats exposed simultaneously to lead and ethanol. Though ethanol treatment alone inhibited the activities of hepatic alcohol dehydrogenase and cytosolic and mitochondrial aldehyde dehydrogenase, no effect of lead treatment alone on these variables was observed. The results suggested that animals exposed to ethanol and lead are more vulnerable to the neurologic and hepatotoxic effects and the systemic toxicity of lead.

In vivo metabolism and excretion of propoxur and malathion in the rat: Effect of lead treatment

Lead was administered to Long-Evans rats by daily oral gavage for 30 days at doses of 200, 400, or 600 mg lead/kg/day. The rats were then administered one of the radiolabeled insecticides and the metabolic products examined. The lead-treated rats had blood lead concentrations of ca. 200 μg/dl in the 200 mg/kg/day group and ca. 475 in the 400 mg/kg/day group. Concentrations of lead in the femur were 500 μg/g or higher. Despite this high body burden of lead (accompanied by a 30% weight deficit at 600 mg/kg/day), no difference in the rate of elimination of radiolabeled material was observed. Furthermore, the lead treatments did not change the relative proportions of the detected metabolites. Thus, despite the known effects of lead on heme synthesis, these treatments had no detectable effect in vivo on the metabolism of propoxur or malathion.