Institute for Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, Kiel University, Hermann Rodewald Strasse 2, D-24118 Kiel, Germany; Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Jhang Road, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology (NIAB), Jhang Road, 38000 Faisalabad, Pakistan.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Dec 1;798:149249. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149249. Epub 2021 Jul 24.
Although lithium (Li) is not an essential nutrient for humans, low Li intakes are associated with increased suicide and homicide rates, aggressive behaviors, unipolar/bipolar disorders, acute mania, etc. On the other hand, Li is one of the most effective psychopharmacological agents used for the treatment of these psycho-behavioral disorders. The beneficial normothymic effect of Li could be achieved at lower doses, therefore, modern psychiatry has called to consider Li biofortification of foods to improve its dietary intake. The concept of agronomic biofortification of crops with Li is juvenile and there exist a limited number of studies, mainly focused on vegetables or mushrooms. This review, first of its kind, discusses the nutritional beneficence and dietary intake of Li, its biogeochemistry, and opportunities and challenges in the Li biofortification of food crops. Literature showed that dietary intake of Li in many countries of the world is insufficient, compared to the provisional recommended dietary allowance (RDA) of 1.0 mg day for a 70 kg adult. Lithium contents of soils are widely variable and the metal has high mobility in soils, making it more prone to leaching, and available for plant uptake. Biofortification studies reveal that plants can accumulate significant quantities of Li in their edible tissues without yield loss and quality associated negative effects. At lower application rates, Li tissue concentration could reach to the level that consuming 100-200 g of Li-biofortified fresh vegetables or mushrooms could support its RDA. It seems impossible to enrich the plants with Li to the levels that allow their application in psychiatric treatments, which requires the dosage of 600-1200 mg day. However, there is need to refine the methods of Li biofortification strategies to obtains plant specific concentration of Li in edible parts so that consuming a specific amount could provide the proposed dietary intake requirement.
尽管锂（Li）不是人体必需的营养物质，但低 Li 摄入量与自杀和凶杀率增加、攻击性行为、单相/双相障碍、急性躁狂等有关。另一方面，Li 是治疗这些心理行为障碍最有效的精神药理学药物之一。Li 的有益的正常情绪作用可以在较低剂量下实现，因此，现代精神病学呼吁考虑 Li 对食物进行生物强化，以提高其饮食摄入量。用 Li 对农作物进行农业生物强化的概念还很不成熟，并且相关研究数量有限，主要集中在蔬菜或蘑菇上。本综述首次讨论了 Li 的营养益处和饮食摄入量、生物地球化学以及在粮食作物 Li 生物强化方面的机遇和挑战。文献表明，与 70 公斤成年人的暂定推荐膳食允许量（RDA）1.0mg/天相比，世界上许多国家的 Li 饮食摄入量都不足。土壤中的 Li 含量差异很大，金属在土壤中移动性很高，更容易淋溶，可供植物吸收。生物强化研究表明，植物可以在不损失产量和质量的情况下，在可食用组织中积累大量 Li。在较低的应用率下，Li 组织浓度可以达到食用 100-200g Li 强化新鲜蔬菜或蘑菇就能满足其 RDA 的水平。通过植物强化 Li 使植物中的 Li 含量达到允许其在精神治疗中应用的水平（每天需要 600-1200mg）似乎是不可能的。但是，需要改进 Li 生物强化策略的方法，以获得植物中可食用部分的 Li 特定浓度，从而使食用特定量就可以提供所需的建议饮食摄入量。
