Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gent, 9000, Belgium; Sciensano, Chemical and Physical Health Risks, Organic Contaminants and Additives, Leuvensesteenweg 17, Tervuren, 3080, Belgium; InBios- Centre for Protein Engineering, Department of Life Sciences, University of Liège, Allée du six Août 11, Liège, 4000, Belgium.
Department of Food Technology, Safety and Health, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, Gent, 9000, Belgium; Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, 71515, Egypt.
Environ Pollut. 2024 Apr 15;347:123715. doi: 10.1016/j.envpol.2024.123715. Epub 2024 Mar 8.
Microcystin-LR (MC-LR) is a hepatotoxic metabolite that naturally occurs during some cyanobacterial blooms in eutrophic waterbodies, and irrigation of edible plants with MC-LR-contaminated water causes bioaccumulation of the toxin. However, sufficient information about accumulation and depuration mechanics in hydroculture-grown herb plants is still lacking. This work aimed at 1) investigating bioaccumulation and depuration of MC-LR in basil, 2) verifying the possible MC-LR detoxification mechanisms in the plant, and 3) detecting the natural occurrence of MC-LR in basil (n = 50) collected from the Belgian market. Basil plants grown in a hydroculture were exposed to MC-LR (5, 20, and 50 μg L) spiked in a Hoagland solution for seven days. MC-LR depuration was also studied by transferring the plants to a non-contaminated Hoagland solution after exposure to MC-LR for another seven days. MC-LR concentrations in Hoagland solution, basil leaves, and roots were quantified using a validated UHPLC-MS/MS method. In addition, ELISA and LC-HRMS (only basil leaves) were used for confirmation. The results showed an increase in the accumulated levels of MC-LR at higher exposure doses, with higher MC-LR levels in roots than in leaves for all the treatment conditions. For MC-LR depuration, significant reductions were observed in all the treatment conditions for roots only. No MC-LR conjugates, potentially related to metabolism, were detected by LC-HRMS. Finally, MC-LR was detected in one store-bought basil sample, representing the first occurrence of cyanotoxins in an edible crop from Belgium.
微囊藻毒素-LR（MC-LR）是一种肝毒素代谢物，在富营养化水体中的某些蓝藻水华期间自然产生，用含有 MC-LR 的水灌溉食用植物会导致毒素的生物积累。然而，关于水培植物中 MC-LR 的积累和消除机制的信息仍然不足。本研究旨在：1）研究罗勒中 MC-LR 的生物积累和消除；2）验证植物中可能存在的 MC-LR 解毒机制；3）检测从比利时市场采集的罗勒（n=50）中天然存在的 MC-LR。在水培中生长的罗勒植物暴露于 Hoagland 溶液中添加的 MC-LR（5、20 和 50μg/L）中 7 天。在暴露于 MC-LR 7 天后，将植物转移到未受污染的 Hoagland 溶液中，也研究了 MC-LR 的消除情况。用经过验证的 UHPLC-MS/MS 方法定量测定 Hoagland 溶液、罗勒叶和根中的 MC-LR 浓度。此外，还使用 ELISA 和 LC-HRMS（仅罗勒叶）进行确认。结果表明，在较高的暴露剂量下，MC-LR 的积累水平增加，所有处理条件下根部的 MC-LR 水平均高于叶片。对于 MC-LR 的消除，仅在所有处理条件下根部都观察到显著降低。LC-HRMS 未检测到可能与代谢有关的 MC-LR 缀合物。最后，在一个商店购买的罗勒样本中检测到 MC-LR，这是比利时食用作物中首次出现蓝藻毒素。
