Assessment of health risks associated with pesticide and heavy metal contents in Fritillaria thunbergii Miq. (Zhe Beimu)

Occurrence and health risk of pesticide residues in Chinese herbal medicines from Shandong Province, China

Pesticide residue was one of the stress factors affecting quality and safety of Chinese herbal medicines (CHMs). The present study was designed to investigate the occurrence and dietary exposure of 70 pesticide residues in 307 samples of CHMs, including 104 American ginseng, 100 Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum), and 103 Dendrobium officinale (D. officinale) in Shandong Province, China. The study revealed that a total of 29 pesticides were detected in the majority (92.5%) of samples, and the pesticide residues of 85 (27.7%) samples exceeded the maximum residue levels (MRLs). Particularly, the maximum concentration of chlorpyrifos was 23.8 mg kg-1, almost 50 times of the MRLs in food in GB 2763-2021, while there's no standard restrictions specified in CHMs in China. The chronic, acute, and cumulative risk assessment results indicated that risk exposure of the three types of CHMs were unlikely to pose a health risk to consumers. However, more attention should be paid to the multiple residues with the presence of four or more pesticides in one sample and high over-standard rate of pesticides. The pesticide users and the government should pay more attention to the pesticides used in CHMs and regularly monitor the presence of these compounds. The study recommended the MRLs of these pesticides in CHMs should be established and perfected by the relevant departments in China.

Discovery of potential quality markers of Fritillariae thunbergii bulbus in pneumonia by combining UPLC-QTOF-MS, network pharmacology, and molecular docking

Fritillariae thunbergii bulbus (FTB) is a popular Chinese herbal medicine with various applications in respiratory diseases. The quality evaluation of FTB has been insufficient to date, as the active ingredients and mechanisms of action of FTB remain unclear. This study proposes a novel strategy for exploring the quality markers (Q-markers) of FTB based on UPLC-QTOF-MS analysis, network pharmacology, molecular docking, and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation. A total of 26 compounds in FTB were identified by UPLC-QTOF-MS. Ten of these compounds were screened as Q-markers based on network pharmacology for their anti-pneumonia effects, including imperialine, peimisine, peiminine, ebeiedinone, zhebeirine, puqiedine, 9-hydroxy-10,12-octadecadienoic acid, (9Z,12Z,15Z)-13-hydroxy-9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, 9,12,15-octadecatrienoic acid, and (2E,4Z,7Z,10Z,13Z,16Z,19Z)-2,4,7,10,13,16,19-docosaheptaenoic acid methyl ester (DAME). These Q-markers were predicted to act on multiple targets and pathways associated with pneumonia. Molecular docking results revealed that most of the Q-markers showed high affinity with at least one of the main targets of pneumonia, and the top ten complexes were confirmed with MD simulation. Network pharmacology indicated that FTB may act on the TNF signaling pathway, HIF-1 signaling pathway, JAK-STAT signaling pathway, etc. The results demonstrated that imperialine (P8), peimisine (P9), peiminine (P11), ebeiedine (P15), zhebeirine (P16), and puqiedine (P18) may be potential Q-markers of FTB, and AKT1, IL-6, VEGFA, TP53, EGFR, STAT3, PPARG, MMP9, and CASP3 may be promising therapeutic targets for pneumonia treatment that are worthy of further research.

Contamination and health risk of pesticides in eight popular Chinese traditional medicines from Zhejiang Province

Zhejiang Province is one of the top five major provinces producing traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs) and is famous for Zhebawei (in Chinese), the eight popular geo-authentic TCMs including Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Radix Paeoniae Alba, Thunberg Fritillary Bulb, Chrysanthemum morifolium, Corydalis yanhusuo W. T. Wang, Scrophulariae Radix, Ophiopogonis Radix, and Curcuma Wenyujin Y. H. Chen et C. Ling. High proportion application and residue of pesticides directly affect the quality and yield of TCMs. In this study, pesticides residual levels in crude and processing samples were assessed along with their health risks in Zhebawei primarily produced in Zhejiang Province. In total, the exceeded ratios of pesticides residual concentrations in above mentioned eight species were 15/23, 4/7, 26/70, 22/44, 10/19, 8/12, 7/15, and 0/2, respectively. No acute dietary intake health risks were found but the long-term risks from permethrin in S. Radix should be carefully considered, with all quotient values being higher than 2.1 for all groups between 7 and 70 years. Furthermore, the risks of total benzene hexachloride in T. Fritillary Bulb and carbendazim in C. morifolium should be closely monitored. Suggestions for the cultivation and pesticide management of herbal medicines have been proposed to promote the quality of medicinal materials.

Reductive soil disinfestation and Fe amendment improve soil microbial composition and Fritillaria production

The continuous obstacles of cropping cause severe economic loss, which seriously threaten agricultural sustainable development. In addition, managing excess waste, such as potato peel and mineral waste residues, is a vital burden for industry and agriculture. Therefore, we explored the feasibility of reductive soil disinfestation (RSD) with potato peel and amendment with iron mineral waste residues for the production of Fritillaria thunbergii, which is vulnerable to continuous obstacles. In this study, the influences of iron mineral, RSD with different organic maters, as well as the combined effects of iron mineral and RSD on Fritillaria rhizosphere soil physicochemical properties, microbial communities, and Fritillaria production were investigated. The results revealed that the RSD treatments with potato peel significantly reduced the soil salinity and increased the soil pH, microbial activity, organic matter, and the contents of K and Ca. RSD with potato peel also significantly thrived of the beneficial microbes (Bacillus, Azotobacter, Microvirga, and Chaetomium), and down-regulated potential plant pathogens. RSD with potato peel significantly promoted F. thunbergii yield and quality. Moreover, the combined effects of RSD and iron mineral amendment further enhanced soil health, improved microbial community composition, and increased the yield and peimisine content of F. thunbergii by 24.2% and 49.3%, respectively. Overall, our results demonstrated that RSD with potato peel and amendment with iron mineral waste residues can efficiently improve soil fertility, modify the microbial community, and benefit for both the sustainable production of F. thunbergii and the management of waste. KEY POINTS: • RSD increases soil pH, organic matter, microbial activity, and mineral content • RSD with potato peel enriches beneficial microbes and decreases plant pathogens • PP + Fe treatment increases Fritillaria yield by 24.2% and peimisine content by 49.3.

Multiple pesticide residues and risk assessment of Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo: a three-year investigation

Dendrobium officinale Kimura et Migo (D. officinale) is a traditional Chinese medicine homologous to food, and its safety has attracted considerable attention. Pesticide residues are critical indicators for evaluating the safety of D. officinale. This study investigated the levels of 130 pesticides in 137 stem samples and 82 leaf samples from five main production areas of D. officinale in Zhejiang Province, along with the associated risk of dietary exposure for the population between 2019 and 2021. Forty-five pesticides were detected in 171 samples, of which pyraclostrobin had the highest detection frequency. Multiple residues were detected in 52.56% of the stem samples and 54.88% of the leaf samples, and one stem sample contained up to 18 pesticides. Here, the level of difenoconazole in three samples (two stem samples and one leaf sample) was higher than the maximum residue limit (MRL) in China. Considering the possible health risks related to pesticide residues, a risk assessment of human exposure to pesticides via the intake of D. officinale stems and leaves was evaluated, indicating negligible short-term, long-term, and cumulative risks to human health. However, considering the high detection rate of unregistered pesticides, the supplementation of pesticide registration information on D. officinale should be expedited, and MRLs should be established to ensure food and drug safety.

Ecological Risk Assessment and Source Identification of Heavy Metals in Soils from Shiyang River Watershed in Northwest China

Shiyang River Watershed is an important ecological barrier and agricultural production area in Northwest China, and the study of soil heavy metal content, distribution, and sources is important for agricultural product safety, pollution control, and ecosystem health. In this paper, 140 soil samples were collected from 28 stations to assess the level of heavy metal (Arsenic (As), Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Cadmium (Cd), Chromium (Cr), Mercury (Hg), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn)) contamination, pollutant sources and influencing factors of soil in Shiyang River Watershed through determination of the metal contents and statistical analysis. The results indicated that the soils in the study area are typical saline soils in arid zones. The enrichment factors (EF) of As, Cr, Cu, Ni, Zn, and Pb indicate no contamination, and the EFs of Cd and Hg suggested minor contamination. Although the concentrations of Cd and Hg in soil are lower than others, they are more biotoxic and exhibit a moderate-high ecological risk. The index of geoaccumulation (Igeo) values reflect that most of the stations, especially the three groups of samples from depths of 10-20 cm, 20-40 cm, and 40-80 cm, are below the contamination threshold for all heavy metals. The chemical speciation of heavy metals, principal component analysis, and correlation analysis showed that Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, and Zn mainly come from the natural accumulation upon weathering of soil-forming matrices. Hg and As mainly come from anthropogenic contributions. The effect of agricultural crop cultivation on soil heavy metal contamination is mainly through farm irrigation and crop-soil interactions, which accelerate the release of heavy metals through the weathering of soil-forming parent material and irrigation, which transports the heavy metals below the surface. The results of this study can provide a scientific basis for the involved authorities to formulate reasonable policies on environmental protection and pollution control.