Section of Natural and Applied Sciences, Canterbury Christ Church University, Canterbury, Kent, UK.
Integr Environ Assess Manag. 2024 Nov;20(6):2107-2115. doi: 10.1002/ieam.4981. Epub 2024 Jul 30.
Foraging provides a multitude of individual, social, and environmental benefits. With green spaces decreasing in the United Kingdom, there is an opportunity for roadside verges to become valuable foraging resources; however, there is public concern over the safety of roadside forage. Human ingestion of heavy metal contaminants, such as copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and cadmium (Cd), originating from traffic activity, induces toxic effects in the body. Therefore, maximum Cu, Pb, and Cd guideline limits for human consumption in small fruits were established. However, studies of heavy metal concentrations in roadside forage and the effects of surface washing on concentrations are limited. This study examined Cu, Pb, and Cd in washed and unwashed wild blackberries (Rubus fruticose L.) along a main road in Kent, UK, and compares the values with maximum guideline limits. In all 44 samples, Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations were well below the maximum guideline limit or daily reference intake (RI) value. Cu and Pb concentrations were below the maximum daily intake in every sample if foragers eat one portion (80 g) of berries a day, but consuming a larger quantity of berries per day (e.g., 1 kg) could lead to an intake above the guideline limit for Cu (1 mg) and Pb (0.1 mg), but not Cd (0.03 mg). Washing did not significantly reduce the concentrations of Cu (p = 0.174) or Cd (p = 0.752) in blackberries, but did significantly reduce the Pb concentration (p < 0.001). However, Pb concentration was below maximum guideline limits for every sample regardless of washing treatment. Thus, wild blackberries collected from the roadside were suitable for human consumption, although the findings are not representative of all foraged berries or road networks. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:2107-2115. © 2024 The Author(s). Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of Society of Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry (SETAC).
觅食提供了众多个人、社会和环境益处。随着英国绿色空间的减少，路边的草坪有机会成为有价值的觅食资源；然而，公众对路边草料的安全性表示担忧。人类摄入源自交通活动的重金属污染物，如铜（Cu）、铅（Pb）和镉（Cd），会对身体产生毒性影响。因此，为人类食用小水果制定了 Cu、Pb 和 Cd 的最大指导限制。然而，关于路边草料中重金属浓度以及表面清洗对浓度影响的研究有限。本研究检测了英国肯特郡一条主要道路沿线清洗和未清洗的野生黑莓（Rubus fruticose L.）中的 Cu、Pb 和 Cd，并将这些值与最大指导限值进行了比较。在所有 44 个样本中，Cu、Pb 和 Cd 的浓度均远低于最大指导限值或每日参考摄入量（RI）值。如果觅食者每天吃一份（80 克）浆果，Cu 和 Pb 的浓度在每个样本中都低于最大每日摄入量，但如果每天食用更多数量的浆果（例如 1 公斤），则可能导致 Cu（1 毫克）和 Pb（0.1 毫克）的摄入量超过指导限值，但不会超过 Cd（0.03 毫克）。清洗并没有显著降低黑莓中 Cu（p=0.174）或 Cd（p=0.752）的浓度，但显著降低了 Pb 的浓度（p<0.001）。然而，无论清洗处理如何，Pb 的浓度均低于最大指导限值。因此，从路边采集的野生黑莓适合人类食用，尽管这些发现并不能代表所有的野生浆果或道路网络。2024 年，《综合环境评估与管理》，第 20 卷，第 2107-2115 页。©2024 作者。综合环境评估与管理由 Wiley 期刊 LLC 代表环境毒理与化学学会（SETAC）出版。
