A comprehensive analysis of chemical and biological pollutants (natural and anthropogenic origin) of soil and dandelion ( < i > Taraxacum officinale < /i > ) samples

by Mieczys ława Irena Boguś, Anna Katarzyna Wrońska, Agata Kaczmarek, Mikołaj Drozdowski, Zdzisław Laskowski, Anna Myczka, Aleksandra Cybulska, Marek Gołębiowski, Adrianna Chwir-Gołębiowska, Lena Siecińska, Ewelina Mokijewska A range of analytical methods (GC-MS, LC-MS, voltammetry, microbiological and microscopic techniques, PCR) was used to assay a range of potential chemical and biological contaminants in soil and dandelion samples. The results provide the first comprehensive safety analysis of dandelion as a herbal product. Samples were collected from three different sites in Poland where the local population collects dandelion plants for their own consumption: Rudenka (a mountain meadow in the European Ecological Network of Natura 2000 protection area, free of agrotechnical treatments for over 30 years), War szawa 1 (dense single-family housing with heavy traffic), and Warszawa 2 (recreation area with heavy traffic near a coal-fired heat and power plant). The assays of heavy metals and other chemical pollutants (PAHs, PCBs, dioxins, pesticides, mycotoxins) confirm that all collected soil and dandelion s amples were chemically pure; however, 95 species of pathogenic bacteria were detected, including “carnivorous”Vibrio vulnificus, zoonoticPasteurella pneumotropica,Pasteurella canis,Staphylococcus pseudintermedius,Staphylococcus lentus andFrancisella tularensis as well as 14 species of pathogenic fungi and one protozoan parasite (Giardia intestinalis). The d...
Source: PLoS One - Category: Biomedical Science Authors: Source Type: research