Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2023 May 25;13(1):8521.
doi: 10.1038/s41598-023-35647-x.

Dietary exposure to potentially harmful elements in edible plants in Poland and the health risk dynamics related to their geochemical differentiation

Agata Wódkowska  1 , Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska  2
Affiliations

Dietary exposure to potentially harmful elements in edible plants in Poland and the health risk dynamics related to their geochemical differentiation

Agata Wódkowska et al. Sci Rep. .

Abstract

Differences in the health risk values calculated for consumers of potentially harmful elements (PHEs) present in edible plants were investigated. Based on a comprehensive literature search, the highest PHE contents in plants were identified in the southern and western regions of Poland, that also revealed the highest geochemical enrichment with Zn, Pb, Cu, As, Cd, and Tl. The highest unacceptable non-carcinogenic risk (HQ) values for mean PHE contents in Poland were found for Pb: toddlers (2.80), pre-schoolers (1.80), and school-aged children (1.45) and for Cd for toddlers (1.42). The highest unacceptable carcinogenic risk (CR) values for mean As content was observed for adults (5.9 × 10-5). The highest non-carcinogenic risk values for consumers were reported in Silesia, Lower Silesia, Lublin, Lesser Poland, and Opole Provinces, indicating the impact of geochemical variability on risk values.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
PRISMA diagram of the literature review on Potentially Harmful Elements concentrations in edible plants in Poland.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The localisation of research on PHE contents in edible plants in Poland (Esri ArcMap 10.8.0.12790; http://esri.com).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Total non-carcinogenic risk (HQtotal) values for consumed edible plants in Poland based on mean and P95 concentrations of PHEs; P95—95th percentile.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Total non-carcinogenic risk (HQtotal) values for consumed edible plants in Poland based on mean and P95 concentrations of PHEs; P95—95th percentile.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Total carcinogenic risk (CRtotal) values for consumed edible plants in Poland and individual provinces based on mean and P95 concentrations of As; P95—95th percentile.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Day L. Proteins from land plants—potential resources for human nutrition and food security. Trends Food Sci. Technol. 2013;32:25–42. doi: 10.1016/j.tifs.2013.05.005. - DOI
    1. WHO. Healthy diet. WHO Newsroom.https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/healthy-diet (2020).
    1. Harvard University. Healthy Eating Plate. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/healthy-eating-plate/ (2017).
    1. Wolnicka, K. Talerz zdrowego żywienia. Narodowe Centrum Edukacji Żywieniowej.https://ncez.pzh.gov.pl/abc-zywienia/talerz-zdrowego-zywienia/ (2020).
    1. Yahia, E. M. Contribution of fruits and vegetables to human nutrition and health. In Postharvest Physiology and Biochemistry of Fruits and Vegetables (ed. Yahia, E. M.) 19–45 (Woodhead Publishing, 2019).

Publication types