Transfer of heavy metals from soil to vegetables: A comparative

Overview

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Heavy metals consumed vegetables irrigated with different water sources. The field study covered 36 m2 of
HMs are a significant source of pollution in edible vegetables (10). HMs that are non-biodegradable have long biological half-lives
specifically vegetables, in response to the growing demand for food safety (11,12,14–16). However, it is important to acknowledge
cadmium (Cd) are among the most common and dominant HMs in vegetables, and they are also toxic (20,21). The high level of HMs in
Higher TF values (≥1) indicate that the plant efficiently absorbs metals from the soil, making it more suitable for phytoextraction
The cultivation of vegetables commenced on April 19, 2021. As illustrated in Fig. 1, the selected agricultural land (36 m2) was
divided into nine parts (P), each measuring 2 × 2 m (4 m2). The study involved the cultivation of three distinct species of vegetables:
coriander, basil, and radish. These vegetables were grown in three separate portions, denoted as P1, P4, and P7 for coriander; P2, P5,
Before planting vegetables, ten composite soil samples were collected from the cultivation site at five different points (P1, P2, P5,
divided into three sections, resulting in 30 SWI samples for subsequent analysis. Following the vegetable harvest, soil samples were
Fig. 1. The method of placing the vegetables on designated plots and watering them with different irrigating treatments.
To perform acid digestion of vegetable samples, 0.2 g of dried vegetables were weighed and transferred into a 25 mL flask, followed
temperature subsequently increased to 100 ◦ C for 90 min. After cooling to laboratory temperature, 0.2 mL of 37 % H2O2 was added to
plasma optical emission spectrometry)ICP-OES(device (SPECTRO, Germany) with the characteristics listed in Table S1. Limit of
detection (LOD) of this device for metals As, Cd, Pb, Cu, Fe, Zn, Cr, Mn, and Ni was 0.179, 0.049, 0.166, 0.306, 0.160, 0.270, 0.564,
To determine the actual amount of HMs absorption by each vegetable, the TF was computed using Eq. (1). The TF represents the
3.1. Effect of different irrigation sources on the transfer factor of heavy metals in various vegetables
Zn > Cd > As ≈ Cr > Ni ≈ Pb for coriander, and Fe > Mn > Zn > Cd > Cu ≈ Ni > Cr > As > Pb for basil (Tables 2–4). The results
(45). Wang et al. (36) found that the TF of Cd from soil to plants is ten times higher than that of Pb, attributable to the greater mobility
of Pb compared to Cd (36). Cao et al. (46) demonstrated that the TF of HMs from soil to crops such as rice and vegetables follows the
mg/kg) and the highest (25.23 mg/kg) concentrations of Cd and Zn, respectively (48). This trend has also been noted in the studies of
means that at least one of the pairwise comparisons was significant); **P > 0.05: Non-significant difference (It means that non-pairwise comparisons
3.3. Transfer factor among different vegetables for each specific heavy metal
basil > radish > coriander, and for Ni, it was basil > radish ≈ coriander (Fig. 3). These findings suggest that different vegetables have
Fig. 3. The transfer factor of each specific heavy metal among various vegetables irrigated with different sources. *P < 0.05: Significant difference
(It means that at least one of the pairwise comparisons was significant); **P > 0.05: Non-significant difference (It means that non-pairwise com
difference (P > 0.05) was observed in vegetables (Fig. 3 & Tables S11–S19).
(8) A. Gebrekidan, Y. Weldegebriel, A. Hadera, B. Van der Bruggen, Toxicological assessment of heavy metals accumulated in vegetables and fruits grown in Ginfel
(10) K. ur Rehman, S.M. Bukhari, S. Andleeb, A. Mahmood, K.O. Erinle, M.M. Naeem, Q. Imran, Ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in vegetables irrigated
(12) T. Ahmadi-Jouibari, H. Ahmadi Jouybari, K. Sharafi, M. Heydari, N. Fattahi, Assessment of potentially toxic elements in vegetables and soil samples irrigated
(15) M. Arora, B. Kiran, S. Rani, A. Rani, B. Kaur, N. Mittal, Heavy metal accumulation in vegetables irrigated with water from different sources, Food Chem. 111
of various irrigation water on the accumulation of toxic metals in the most widely consumed vegetables in Iran, Sci. Rep. 12 (2022) 20806, https://doi.org/
(17) S. Khan, S. Rehman, A. Zeb Khan, M. Amjad Khan, M. Tahir Shah, Soil and vegetables enrichment with heavy metals from geological sources in Gilgit, northern
assessment of nitrate in vegetables irrigated with different irrigation water sources- transfer evaluation of nitrate from soil to vegetables, Environ. Res. 205
(21) B. Yargholi, A.A. Azimi, A. Baghvand, A.M. Liaghat, G.A. Fardi, Investigation of cadmium absorption and accumulation in different parts of some vegetables,
(36) G. Wang, M.-Y. Su, Y.-H. Chen, F.-F. Lin, D. Luo, S.-F. Gao, Transfer characteristics of cadmium and lead from soil to the edible parts of six vegetable species in
(37) H. Zhou, W.-T. Yang, X. Zhou, L. Liu, J.-F. Gu, W.-L. Wang, J.-L. Zou, T. Tian, P.-Q. Peng, B.-H. Liao, Accumulation of heavy metals in vegetable species planted
(38) Y.-J. Cui, Y.-G. Zhu, R.-H. Zhai, D.-Y. Chen, Y.-Z. Huang, Y. Qiu, J.-Z. Liang, Transfer of metals from soil to vegetables in an area near a smelter in Nanning,
(42) P. Khanna, Assessment of heavy metal contamination in different vegetables grown in and around urban areas, Res. J. Environ. Toxicol. 5 (2011) 162.
(43) S.S. Rangnekar, S.K. Sahu, G.G. Pandit, V.B. Gaikwad, Accumulation and translocation of nickel and cobalt in nutritionally important Indian vegetables grown in
(44) L. Tabande, M. Taheri, Evaluation of exposure to heavy metals Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in vegetables grown in the olericultures of Zanjan Province’s fields, Iran. J.
(46) H. Cao, J. Chen, J. Zhang, H. Zhang, L. Qiao, Y. Men, Heavy metals in rice and garden vegetables and their potential health risks to inhabitants in the vicinity of

Methods (brief)

samples from the cultivation area and harvested vegetables were collected. These samples un
derwent analysis using the ICP-OES method to assess HM levels and subsequent calculation of the
The mean concentration of various HM pollutants in the water samples used for irrigation is presented in Table 1. Following the
Before planting vegetables, ten composite soil samples were collected from the cultivation site at five different points (P1, P2, P5,
P7, and P9) at a depth of 30 cm. These initial soil samples were labeled as soil samples without irrigation (SWI), and each sample was
divided into three sections, resulting in 30 SWI samples for subsequent analysis. Following the vegetable harvest, soil samples were
collected from different sections denoted as P1–P9. Six soil samples were obtained from areas P1–P3, irrigated with well water and
chemical fertilizers (SWWF). Similarly, six soil samples were collected from sections P4–P6 and irrigated with river water (SRW).
Additionally, six soil samples were taken from areas P7–P9, irrigated with treated sewage effluent (STWE). In total, 18 soil samples
subjected to irrigation and ten samples not subjected to irrigation were collected, and each sample was subdivided into three portions.
During this study phase, 84 samples were analyzed for the presence of HMs.
Five samples were taken from each type of vegetable, each produced with different watering schedules. Consequently, 45 samples
collected sample was analyzed with three repetitions, resulting in the analysis of 135 samples for the target pollutants. The leafy parts
2.4. Sample preparation
The collected soil samples were air-dried for 24 h and were subsequently sieved through a 2 mm mesh to eliminate gravel and other
impurities. To digest the soil samples, 2 g of pre-dried soil was placed into a 25 mL flask, and 15 mL of 4 N nitric acid was added. The
mixture was thoroughly mixed and placed in a hot water bath at 80 ◦ C for 12 h. Following cooling, the samples were filtered using a 42-
To perform acid digestion of vegetable samples, 0.2 g of dried vegetables were weighed and transferred into a 25 mL flask, followed

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The five most recent substantive edits to this page, classified major (evidence or structure moved), correction (a published value or statement was wrong and has been fixed), or minor (narrative rewritten without changing the underlying evidence). Each description is derived from what the edit did to this page; the linked commit is the authoritative record, routine regeneration passes are excluded, and the full version history lives in git. When DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.

Commit	Date	Change	Description
b01ec52c	2026-08-04	major	2 sections added
d49e450f	2026-08-03	major	5 sections added; narrative text revised