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Review
. 2011 Apr 27;59(8):3485-98.
doi: 10.1021/jf104517j. Epub 2011 Mar 15.

Interaction of nanoparticles with edible plants and their possible implications in the food chain

Cyren M Rico  1 , Sanghamitra Majumdar, Maria Duarte-Gardea, Jose R Peralta-Videa, Jorge L Gardea-Torresdey
Affiliations
Review

Interaction of nanoparticles with edible plants and their possible implications in the food chain

Cyren M Rico et al. J Agric Food Chem. .

Abstract

The uptake, bioaccumulation, biotransformation, and risks of nanomaterials (NMs) for food crops are still not well understood. Very few NMs and plant species have been studied, mainly at the very early growth stages of the plants. Most of the studies, except one with multiwalled carbon nanotubes performed on the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and another with ZnO nanoparticles (NPs) on ryegrass, reported the effect of NMs on seed germination or 15-day-old seedlings. Very few references describe the biotransformation of NMs in food crops, and the possible transmission of the NMs to the next generation of plants exposed to NMs is unknown. The possible biomagnification of NPs in the food chain is also unknown.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Uptake, translocation and biotransformation pathway of various nanoparticles in a plant system. A. Plant showing the selective uptake and translocation of nanoparticles. B. Transverse cross section of the root absorption zone showing the differential nanoparticle interaction on exposure. The superscripts depict the reference cited (Drafted by S. Majumdar).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Probable modes of cellular uptake of the nanoparticles in a plant cell (Drafted by S. Majumdar).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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