Effects of arsenic on soil-plant systems

Arsenic is a highly toxic element and its presence in food composites is a matter of concern for the well-being of both humans and animals. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of arsenic on food vegetables and polluted soils. Vicia faba seedlings grown on polluted soils were used to evaluate the phytotoxic and genotoxic effects by comet assay. The results of these tests were dependent upon different types of soils. We studied different types of soils and contamination effects on Raphanus sativus L. and Lactuca sativa L. cropping by using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). For both analytical approaches, we found indicators correlated to As contamination, chemical for NMR, i.e. modification of composition, and morphological for MRI, i.e reorganisation of internal tissues. Samples of vegetables were collected to analyse their micro- and macronutrient contents and level of metals using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) analysis, which confirms the results obtained by MRI.