TY - JOUR

T1 - Occurrence of pyrrolizidine alkaloids in ragwort plants, soils and surface waters at the field scale in grassland

AU - Hama, Jawameer R.

AU - Strobel, Bjarne W.

PY - 2021

Y1 - 2021

N2 - Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA)s are natural toxins produced by a variety of plants including ragwort. The PAs present a serious health risk to human and livestock. Although these compounds have been extensively studied in food and feed, little is known regarding their environmental fate. To fill this data gap, we investigated the occurrence of PAs in ragwort plants, soils and surface waters at three locations where ragwort was the dominant plant species to better understand their environmental distribution. The concentrations of PAs were quantified during the full growing season (April–November) and assessed in relation to rain events. PA concentrations ranged from 3.2–6.6 g/kg dry weight (dw) in plants, 0.8–4.0 mg/kg dw in soils, and 6.0–529 μg/L in surface waters. Maximum PA concentrations in the soil (4 mg/kg) and water (529 μg/L) were in mid-May just before flowering. The average distribution of PAs in water was approximately 5 g/10,000 L, compared to the average amounts present in ragwort (506 kg/ha), and soil (1.7 kg/ha). In general, concentrations of PAs increase in the soil and surface water following rain events.

AB - Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PA)s are natural toxins produced by a variety of plants including ragwort. The PAs present a serious health risk to human and livestock. Although these compounds have been extensively studied in food and feed, little is known regarding their environmental fate. To fill this data gap, we investigated the occurrence of PAs in ragwort plants, soils and surface waters at three locations where ragwort was the dominant plant species to better understand their environmental distribution. The concentrations of PAs were quantified during the full growing season (April–November) and assessed in relation to rain events. PA concentrations ranged from 3.2–6.6 g/kg dry weight (dw) in plants, 0.8–4.0 mg/kg dw in soils, and 6.0–529 μg/L in surface waters. Maximum PA concentrations in the soil (4 mg/kg) and water (529 μg/L) were in mid-May just before flowering. The average distribution of PAs in water was approximately 5 g/10,000 L, compared to the average amounts present in ragwort (506 kg/ha), and soil (1.7 kg/ha). In general, concentrations of PAs increase in the soil and surface water following rain events.

KW - Fallow

KW - Hepatotoxic

KW - Jacobaea vulgaris

KW - Plant toxins

KW - Surface water

KW - Terrestrial environment

U2 - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142822

DO - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.142822

M3 - Journal article

C2 - 33348479

AN - SCOPUS:85094100591

VL - 755

JO - Science of the Total Environment

JF - Science of the Total Environment

SN - 0048-9697

M1 - 142822

ER -