Gastrodia elata Blume tuber is widely recognized as both a food and medicine substance valued for its nutritional and therapeutic properties. However, environmental factors significantly influence its quality, medicinal efficacy, and overall value, making it crucial to comprehensively understand the quality of G. elata from different geographical origins. This study aims to discriminate G. elata specimens originating from three distinct geographical regions in China through comparative analysis of multi-element composition and pharmacological active ingredients. Using high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and Inductively coupled plasma-Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS), we quantified 17 elements and 6 active ingredients across the samples. Multivariate statistical methods, including cluster heatmap, principal component analysis (PCA) and orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), were employed to assess compositional differences and identify potential biomarkers. Our results showed significant variations in both the chemical and mineral composition of the samples. Multivariate statistics indicated that HBA, PE, PB, and Fe, K, Ca, Mn, P, Na, Cu, Mg, and B were the potential markers for discrimination of G. elata from Shaanxi, Yunnan, and Guizhou. These findings demonstrate the potential of the developed analytical strategy for the identification and discrimination of G. elata from different regions, which integrated pharmacological composition with multi-element as the potential markers.

Cadmium (Cd) contamination poses a significant threat to global agricultural production and hyperaccumulating plant species, such as Solanum nigrum (L.), face challenges in phytoremediation due to limited biomass production. Application of plant growth regulators such as, folic acid (FA) is a promising strategy to increase biomass production in these plant species. Therefore, a study was conducted to assess the interaction between FA and Cd in the mining ecotype of S. nigrum. The study involved two phases: germination and growth. In the first phase, seeds were exposed to different concentrations of CdCl2 (i.e. 0, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 µM) in the presence (0, 25, 50 and 100 µM) or absence of FA for ten days. Results showed that FA enhanced seed germination under Cd stress and acted as an antioxidant and stimulated germination and emergence at moderate concentrations. At higher concentrations, it reduced germination percentage. The study also found significant variations (P <0.05) in growth attributes and Cd uptake in all FA concentrations. Cd was generally higher in shoots than roots, with the highest Cd concentration found in T6 (200 µmol Cd + 50 µmol/L FA) with a 170-fold difference (mean value: 1690 mg/kg) from control (10 mg/kg). Furthermore, an increase in exposure time led to a 2-fold increase in reduced glutathione (GSH) level in leaves at T3 (100 µmol/L Cd + 50 µmol/L FA).Therefore, we concluded that FA is a biostimulant that activates protective mechanism, alleviates oxidative stress and improves Cd uptake and accumulation in hyper-accumulating species.

Heavy metal pollution of agricultural soils, especially from cadmium (Cd) contaminationcaused serious problems in both food security and economy. Sorghum bicolor (L.) showed a great potential in phytoremediation of Cd contamination due to its fast growth, high yield and easy harvesting. However, the growth of S. bicolor plants tends to be inhibited under Cd exposure, which limited its application for Cd remediation. Plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria may enhance the Cd resistance of S. bicolor and thus improve its Cd removal efficiency. In this study, three Cd-resistant bacteria were screened based on Cd and acid tolerance and identified as Bacillus velezensis QZG6, Enterobacter cloacae QZS3 and Bacillus cereus QZS8, by 16S rRNA sequencing. Inoculation of hydroponic plants with strains QZG6, QZS3 or QZS8 significantly promoted the biomass of sorghum plants by 31.52%, 50.20% and 26.93%, respectively, compared with those of uninoculated plants under Cd exposure. The activity of SOD, POD and MDA content in Cd-stressed S. bicolor plants were reduced of 65.74%, 31.52%, and 80.91%, respectively, when inoculated with the strains QZS3. For pot experiment, strains QZG6, QZS3 and QZS8 significantly promoted the biomass of sorghum plants by 47.30%, 19.27% and 58.47%, compared with those of uninoculated plants under Cd exposure. The activity of SOD, POD and MDA content in Cd-stressed S. bicolor plants were reduced of 67.20%, 22.40%, and 40.65%, respectively, when inoculated with the strains QZS3. All these three strains significantly increased the Cd removal efficiency of the plants by 42.16% (QZG6), 18.76% (QZS3) and 21.06% (QZS8). To investigate the bacterial characteristics associated with growth promotion of S. bicolor plants, the ability on nitrogen fixation, phosphorus solubilization, siderophores production, and phytohormones production were determined. All the strains were able to fix nitrogen. Phosphorus release was observed for strains QZG6 (inorganic or organic phosphorus) and QZS3 (inorganic phosphorus). Both QZG6 and QZS8 were able to produce siderophores, while only QZG6 was positive for ACC deaminase. All the strains produced IAA, SA and GA. These results indicated that the three strains promoted the plant growth under Cd stress, probably through Cd detoxification by siderophores, as well as through growth regulation by N/P nutrient supply and phytohormone. The present study showed a great potential of the three Cd-resistant strains combined with S. bicolor plants in the remediation of Cd-polluted soils, which may provide a new insight into combining the advantages of microbes and plants to improve the remediation of Cd-contaminated soils.

Paddy Crusts (PC) play a pivotal role in the migration and transformation of heavy metals within paddy ecosystems, situated at the critical intersection of air, water, and soil. This study focused on PC samples from heavy metal-contaminated rice paddies in six southern Chinese provinces. It's the first time we've screened and quantified the impact of nutrition, physicochemical properties, and heavy metals on bacterial diversity in PC. Our results highlight the significant influence of zinc, total nitrogen, and soil manganese on bacterial diversity. Using structural equation models, we identified the pathways through which these three types of environmental factors shape bacterial diversity. Heavy metal indicators and physical and chemical indicators exerted a direct negative effect on bacterial diversity in PC, while nutritional indicators had a direct and significant positive effect on bacterial diversity. Variance partitioning analysis revealed heavy metals had the most significant impact, accounting for 7.77% of the total effect. Moreover, the influence of heavy metals on bacterial diversity increased as diversity decreased, ranging from 3.81% to 42.09%. To remediate specific heavy metal pollution, our proposed method involves cultivating indigenous bacteria by controlling these environmental factors, based on an analysis of the interplay among bacterial diversity, environmental variables, and heavy metal bioconcentration factors. These findings enhance our understanding of PC and provide insights into rice field heavy metal pollution mitigation.

Camellia shells are the main by-product of camellia seed processing and are usually incinerated or disposed of as agricultural waste. In this study, camellia shells were employed in the Pleurotus pulmonarius cultivation process using five distinct formulae substituting for cottonseed shells. Our results show that as the substitution rate of camellia shells increased from 0% to 35%, the protein content in P. pulmonarius significantly increased from 34.05% to 53.35%. The polysaccharide content reached a peak value of 5.62% at 30% substitution of camellia shells. The DPPH free radical scavenging rate reached its maximum of 82.70% at 20% substitution of camellia shells. Furthermore, increases in the total amino acid contents in P. pulmonarius were positively correlated with the substitution rate of camellia shells. Considering the yield characteristics, the formula of 20% camellia shell substitution tested in this study appears to be optimal for P. pulmonarius cultivation. These findings not only provide a substrate to enhance the nutritional quality of P. pulmonarius but also demonstrate a novel approach for the ecological utilization of camellia shells.

Coptis chinensis Franch is a perennial herb from the Ranunculaceae family with a long history of medicinal use. As the medicinal part, the rhizome of coptis often accumulates excessive cadmium (Cd) even at low concentrations in the soil, which not only compromises its medicinal safety but also raises concerns about adverse effects on human health. Therefore, effective strategies are needed to mitigate this accumulation and ensure its safe use in traditional medicine. This study utilized transcriptome profiling and physiological analysis to explore molecular mechanisms associated with ecological significance and the active accumulation of Cd in C. chinensis. The response to Cd in C. chinensis was assessed through RNA sequencing, Cd determination and isoquinoline alkaloid measurement using its roots, stems, and leaves. The transcriptome revealed, a total of 2667, 2998, or 2815 up-regulated deferentially expressed genes in roots, stems or leaves in response to Cd exposure. Furthermore, we identified phenylpropanoid and isoquinoline alkaloid biosynthesis as the key pathways response to Cd exposure, which suggests that C. chinensis may improve its tolerance to Cd through regulating the phenylpropanoid biosynthesis pathway. Under Cd exposure, plant-pathogen interaction in leaves was identified as the key pathway, which indicates that upregulation of genes involved in plant-pathogen interaction could enhance disease resistance in C. chinensis. WGCNA analysis identified WRKY8 (Cluster-55763.31419) and WRKY47 (Cluster-55763.221590) as potential regulators of secondary metabolic synthesis and plant-pathogen interaction pathway in C. chinensis triggered by Cd. The measurement of berberine, coptisine, palmatine, and epiberberine also demonstrated that Cd simulated the four isoquinoline alkaloids in roots. Therefore, our study not only presented a transcriptome expression profiles that revealed significant upregulation of genes involved in metal transport and detoxification pathways but also suggested a possible mechanism to cope with Cd accumulation. This knowledge provides a new insight into gene manipulation for controlling Cd accumulation, enhancing resistance and promoting synthesis of secondary metabolites with potential medicinal properties in other medicinal plant species.

The phytohormones cytokinins (CKs) are known to regulate apical/auxiliary meristems, control shoot growth and are associated with nutrient uptake and high biomass production. In this study, different cytokinins were tested on Sedum alfredii (S.alfredii) for shoot proliferation and growth performance as well as their correlation with phytoextraction efficiency. Among the tested cytokinins, Zeatin (ZTN) treatments produced the highest number of shoots (5-6 per explant) with 5 and 10 μM ZTN concentrations which are shown as zeatin (ZTN) > kinetin (KTN) > benzylaminopurine (BA) > thidiazuron (TDZ). Maximum biomass production was produced on these media. The maximum biomass (0.14 g) was found in 10 μM ZTN concentration with a 1-fold difference (mean value: 0.02 g) from CK (0.12 g). However, the lowest biomass (0.11 g) was found with 4 μM TDZ, with a 1-fold difference (mean value: 0.02 g) from CK (0.13 g) which suppressed shoot growth. The leaf area and leaf chlorophyll index were significantly increased in all cytokinins except TDZ, and the relation was ZTN > KTN > BA>CK > TDZ. Cadmium accumulation was significantly higher in treatments containing cytokinins as compared to cytokinin-free media. Zeatin at 10 μM concentration was the most effective for high biomass production and correlated with higher cadmium uptake efficiency. The results suggest that cytokinins particularly ZTN, play a crucial role in enhancing both biomass production and cadmium, uptake efficiency in S. alfredii. Therefore, in large-scale phytoremediation initiatives conducted in field conditions, cytokinins can be utilized as growth regulators to enhance biomass production and cadmium extraction efficiency in S.alfredii.

Although increasing attention has been paid to agronomic measures for reducing the heavy metal load in rice grain, the effects of duckweed-paddy co-cropping technology on the accumulation of cadmium (Cd) in rice grains remain un-clear. To investigate its specific effects on Cd accumulation in paddy fields, three types of duckweed-like hydrophyte (DH), Azolla imbricata, Spirodela polyrrhiza, and Lemna minor were chosen for study. Their use resulted in a reduction of Cd content in rice grains from 0.40 mg/kg to <0.20 mg/kg, with A. imbricata yielding the best results (0.15 mg/kg). The three types of DH reduced the available Cd content in the soil by 10 % to 35 % after the paddy tillering stage. The reduction of available Cd content was attributed to the absorption, high pH, and increase of relative abundance of special bacteria of immobilizing Cd. In addition, DH could regulate soil nitrogen leading to ammonium nitrogen in-creased from 75 mg/kg to 100 mg/kg, while nitrate nitrogen decreased from 0.55 to 0.1-0.3 mg/kg. The increase of ammonium nitrogen content might induce the low Cd transfer ability in rice plant and then low Cd content in rice grain. This study demonstrated that DH has a good effect on the reduction of the Cd concentration in rice grains. Con-sequently, duckweed-paddy co-cropping technology offers a potential solution to heavy metal pollution and agricul-tural non-point source pollution, as it not only reduces Cd levels in rice plants, but also fixes nitrogen, reducing the need for nitrogen application.

A field experiment was conducted to investigate the effectiveness and mechanisms of foliar spraying of transpiration inhibitor (TI) and different amounts of rhamnolipid (Rh) on the Cd content in rice grain. The contact angle of TI on the rice leaves was significantly reduced when it was combined with one critical micelle concentration of Rh. The Cd concentration in the rice grain in the presence of TI, TI + 0.5Rh, TI + 1Rh, and TI + 2Rh significantly decreased by 30.8 %, 41.7 %, 49.4 %, and 37.7 % respectively, compared with the control treatment. Specifically, the Cd content with TI + 1Rh was as low as 0.182 ± 0.009 mg/kg, which meets the national food safety requirements (< 0.2 mg/kg). The rice yield and plant biomass of TI + 1Rh were highest compared to the other treatments, possibly because of the alleviation of oxidative stress due to Cd. The hydroxyl and carboxyl concentrations in the soluble components in the leaf cells for the TI + 1Rh treatment were the highest compared to the other treatments. Our results demonstrated that the foliar spraying of TI + 1Rh is an efficient method to reduce Cd accumulation in rice grain. It holds potential for the future development of safe food production in soils polluted with Cd.

Fertilization is a crucial agrological measure for agricultural production that can significantly impact the removal of Cd from irrigation water by paddy crusts (PC). In this study, laboratory and field experiments were conducted to investigate the impact of fertilization at low, medium, and high concentrations on the accumulation of Cadmium (Cd) in PC and the underlying mechanisms involved. The results showed that only low fertilizer concentration could promote the removal of Cd by PC, which reduced the Cd concentration in irrigation water from 19.52 μg/L to 5.35 μg/L. Conversely, medium and high fertilizer concentrations reduced the accumulation of Cd by PC. After fertilizer addition, the proportion of Fe-Mn oxidizable-Cd in PC reached 55 % (with low concentration of fertilizer treatment). The application of low concentration of fertilizer was found to stimulate the growth of filamentous green algae, leading to a significant increase in the relative abundance of sphingomonadaceae (by 1.39 %) and comamonadaceae (by 1.29 %). The XRD, SEM and correlation analysis show that a large amount of manganese oxide is formed on the surface of PC, which increases the fixation of Cd. These findings provide a new perspective for the remediation of heavy metal contamination in paddy fields.

Artificial sweeteners (ASs) are ubiquitously detected in the global water system, among which acesulfame (ACE) is an emerging contaminant for its chemical and biological stability and unsatisfying removal by conventional or advanced treatment technologies. Phytoremediation is an effective and sustainable in-situ remediation technology that this study is the first to explore ACE removal by aquatic plants. The emergent plants, Scirpus Validus (S. validus), Phyllostachys heteroclada Oliver (P. heteroclada) and Acorus tatarinowii (A. tatarinowii) showed superior removal capability than eleven floating plants, and demonstrated high phytoremediation efficiencies (PEs) of up to 75 % after 28 d domestication. ACE removal by the three emergent plants increased during domestication, as the PEs after 28 d domestication were 5.6-6.5 times of 7 d domestication. Notably, the half-life of ACE was decreased from 20.0 to 33.1 d to 1.1-3.4 din the plant-hydroponic system, compared with 481.0-1152.4 din control water without plants. Moreover, A. tatarinowii demonstrated the highest removal capacity for ACE with 0.37 mg/g fresh biomass weight (FW), higher than S. validus (0.27 mg/g FW) and P. heteroclada (0.20 mg/g FW). It is worth noting that a mass balance analysis demonstrated that plant transpiration and plant uptake account for about 6.72 %-18.54 % and 9.69 %- 21.67 % ACE removal, while hydrolysis only accounted for about 4 % and photolysis was negligible. The rest ACE may be used as a carbon source by endophytic bacteria and root microorganisms of plants. In addition, increased temperature, pH, and illumination intensity had a significant effect on phytoremediation. In the selected experimental range, the increase of temperature from 15 & DEG;C to 35 & DEG;C, illumination intensity from 1500 lx to 6000 lx, and pH from 5 to 9 generally accelerated the PEs of ACE during the domestication process. Though the mechanism still requires fur- ther investigation, the results provide scientific and feasible data for removal of ACE from water by diverse plants for the first time, and also revealed insights for in-situ treatment of ACE.

Acid mine drainage is harmful to the environment. Bioremediation based on biological soil crusts (BSCs) can be used as a new method to alleviate metal pollution in acid mine drainage. In this study, we found that BSCs can survive in a strongly acidic environment (pH = 3.28) and have a high metal(loid)s accumulation ability. The algae of genera Fragilaria, Klebsormidium, Cymbella, Melosira, Microcystacea, and Planctonema a're the main components of BSCs. These organisms in the BSCs regulated fatty acids and produced acid-resistant enzymes. The bioconcentration factors for As, Cd, Pb, Zn, and Cu were as high as 16,000, 200, 50, 26, and 400, respectively. The concentration of As and Cd in acid mine drainage decreased from 7.1 μg and 350 μg/L to 1.9 μg and 110 μg/L, respectively. In total, 56% of As, 73% of Cd, 88% of Pb, 85% of Zn, and 92% of Cu were present in BSCs as residual or mineral-bound forms. The XRD results (e.g., quarartz and phyllosilicates), SEM results (e.g., phylosilicates and diatom shells) and correlation results show that these metal(loid)s are immobilized by Cymbella (diatoms) during the deposition of silica in the acidic environment. Furthermore, adsorption and co-precipitation are other ways that metal(loid)s could have been bound. These findings provide new insights into the removal of metals (loid) in acidic water.

To improve the cadmium (Cd) resistance and the remediation ability of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, fourteen Cd-resistant bacteria were screened from cadmium-contaminated soil, together with two strains preserved in the laboratory. It was found that 3 strains (ZR451, ZR452, and ZJSH1) significantly promoted the growth of Cd-stressed S. bicolor in hydroponics and mitigated Cd toxicity to plants, and SR8, ZRK1, and ZR211 promoted sorghum growth lightly. Further studies indicated that strains SR8, ZR211, and ZJSH1 were Cd-resistant and acid-resistant strains. Strains ZR211and ZR121 significantly produced two hormones (SA and GA), ZJSH1 significantly produced IAA and SA, and strains SR8, ZR451 and ZR452 produced one hormone. Strains SR8, ZR451, ZR452, and ZJSH1 produced siderophores. In addition, strain ZJSH1fixed nitrogen and produced ACC deaminase, while ZR451 and ZJSH1 solubilized phosphorus Correlation analysis showed that the Cd resistance of the strains was significantly and positively correlated with their IAA and GA production. The screening of the three cadmium resistant strains ZJSH1 (Sphingomonas paucimobilis), ZR451 (Bacillus cereus) and ZR452 (Bacillus cereus) provided bacterial resources for the efficient remediation of Cd-contaminated soils by bacterial - S. bicolor combination.

The rapid decontamination of farmland irrigation water polluted with heavy metals has attracted a great deal of attention. This paper addressed the removal of trace suspended cadmium (Cd) from irrigation water by using the water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) and the phosphate fertilizer (WH-PF). Compared with control samples, Cd removal rate was 12 times higher in the presence of Eichhornia crassipes; furthermore, removal rate rose 36 times after application of WH-PF. A 40 μg/L Cd in irrigation water was reduced to less than 3.5 μg/L within two treatment hours, with the removal efficiency of 91

Heavy metal pollution in metropolitan soils poses significant risks to human health and the entire ecosystem. Effective mitigation strategies and technologies are crucial for addressing these environmental issues. Fast-growing trees are an essential part of phytoremediation projects all over the world and provide long-term ecological benefits to mankind. This study assessed the lead tolerance and phytoremediation potential of a fast-growing soapberry tree species (Sapindus mukorossi) in moderately contaminated soil. Two independent experiments were conducted to assess its tolerance at (i) germination level and (ii) prolonged growth stage. In the germination experiments, seeds were exposed to lead (II) nitrate Pb (NO₃)₂ at various concentrations (0, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500 μM) for 120 days. Results showed significant differences in germination time, germination index, seedling vigor index, energy of germination, final germination, germination inhibition, seedling height and root/shoot weight compared to the control experiments. In the prolonged growth experiments, seedlings were grown for six months in soils amended/spiked with different Pb concentrations (T0 = 0, T1 = 20, T2 = 50, T3 = 100, T4 = 150 and T5 = 200 mg kg−1 soil) and their biomass was determined. The highest biomass achieved in six months (T0: 12.62 g plant−1), followed by (T1: 12.33 g plant−1), (T2: 12.42 g plant−1), (T3: 11.86 g plant−1), (T4: 10.86 g plant−1) and (T5: 10.06 g plant−1) respectively. S. mukorossi showed no visible signs of Pb toxicity over a six-month period. During six months of exposure, the total Pb content in S. mucrossi tissues were classified as roots > leaves > stems. The highest cumulative absorption of Pb occurred between the fourth and fifth months of exposure. Maximum transfer factor (TF) was detected during the fourth month ranging from 0.888 to 1.012 for the different Pb concentrations. Furthermore, the growth behavior, lead accumulation, bioconcentration factors (BCF) and tolerance index (TI) indicated that S. mucrossi may tolerate moderate Pb concentrations for longer periods. These findings suggest that S. mukorossi may be deployed for long-term phytoremediation coupled with urban forest applications in the future.

Polygonati rhizoma (PR), a traditional medical and edible product, is rich in polysaccharides and exhibits physiological activity, including antioxidant, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic properties. Neutral polysaccharides have been reported to be one of the main active ingredients of Polygonatum, with many of these fractions being responsible for the biological activity. This behavior was shown to be closely connected to the chemical structure, monosaccharide composition, and glycosidic bond type. There are few reports on the chemical constituents of the neutral polysaccharides from different sources of PR. In this study, neutral polysaccharides of PR from four different regions of China (Chun'an (Zhejiang), Xixia (Henan), Danfeng (Shanxi), and Pan'an (Zhejiang)), named CAZJ, XXHN, DFSX, and PAZJ, respectively, were isolated by anion-exchange and gel-permeation chromatography. Structures of the four polysaccharides were investigated. The results showed that all of them were mainly glucose and mannose, while the monosaccharide composition and content of polysaccharides from different sources varied. The molecular weights of CAZJ, XXHN, DFSX, and PAZJ were 14.119, 22.352, 18.127, and 15.699 kDa, respectively. Infrared spectra illustrated the existence of α-glycosidic bond and β-glycosidic bond in the polysaccharides. CAZJ, XXHN, and DFSX possessed a pyranose ring structure, whereas PAZJ had a furanose ring structure. Congo red test indicated that XXHN, DFSX, and PAZJ had a triple-helix structure. X-ray diffraction showed that the polysaccharides consisted of crystalline and amorphous regions. All four polysaccharides exhibited different degrees of antioxidant and hypoglycemic activities with a dose-dependent manner in the 1.0-10.0 mg/mL concentration range. Correlation analysis revealed that the bioactivities of polysaccharides was significantly related to monosaccharide composition, uronic acid, and protein content. The results suggested that neutral polysaccharides could be used as potential natural antioxidants and hypoglycemic agents for functional and nutraceutical applications.

Uncaria macrophylla (Rubiaceae) is a medicinal vine plant of the Rubiaceae family that was distributed in East Asia and Southeast Asia. The first complete chloroplast genome of Uncaria macrophylla was sequenced and assembled in this study. The genome is 155,138 bp in length and contained 129 encoded genes in total, including 79 protein-coding genes, eight ribosomal RNA genes, and 37 transfer RNA genes. The phylogenomic analysis showed that U. macrophylla was closely related to Uncaria rhynchophylla according to the current sampling extent.

In this study, Rhizobium rhizogenes-mediated root proliferation system in Sedum alfredii has been established. Twenty strains of R. rhizogenes were screened for root proliferation. A significant difference (P < 0.01) was observed in plant morphological characters under influence of different bacterial strains. The highest root fresh weight (3.236 g/plant) was observed with strain AS12556. Furthermore, significant difference (P < 0.05) was observed in the chemical composition of organic acids, Tartaric acid (TA), Succinic acid (SA), Malic acid (MA), Citric acid (CA) and Oxalic acid (OA), pH, Total Nitrogen (TN), Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and soluble sugars in root exudates with different R. rhizogenes mediated roots. Furthermore, a series of hydroponics experiments were conducted with varying concentrations of Cd (25, 50 and 75 µM) and Zn (100, 200 and 500 µM) to assess the phytoextraction efficiency of proliferated roots with Rhizobium. Several plants with proliferated roots showed enhanced growth and improved metal extraction efficiency. Five strains (LBA 9402, K599, AS12556, MSU440 and C58C1) were identified as potential strains for root proliferation in Sedum alfredii. R. rhizogenes strain AS12556 improved Cd/Zn phytoextraction by exogenous production of phytochemicals to promote root proliferation, improved shoot biomass, lowered oxidative damage and enhanced phytoextraction efficiency in S. alfredii. Therefore, it has been selected as a potential microbial partner of S. alfredii to develop extensive rooting system for better growth and enhanced phytoremediation potential. Results suggest that R. rhizogenes mediated root proliferation system can be used for optimizing metal extraction from contaminated soils.

Plant growth regulators (PGRs) assisted phytoextraction was investigated as a viable phytoremediation technology to increase the phytoextraction efficiency in contaminated soils. This study aimed to evaluate the cadimum (Cd)/lead (Pb)/zinc (Zn) phytoextraction efficiency by a hyperaccumulator Sedum alfredii Hance (S. alfredii) treated with 9 PGRs, including indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), gibberellin (GA3), cytokinin (CKs), abscisic acid (ABA), ethylene (ETH), brassinosteroid (BR), salicylic acid (SA), strigolactones (SL) and jasmonic acid (JA), in slightly or heavily contaminated (SC and HC, respectively) soil. Results demonstrated that PGRs were able to improve S. alfredii biomass, the most significant increases were observed in GA3 and SL for HC soil, while for SC soil, IAA and BR exhibited positive effects. The levels of Cd, Pb and Zn in the shoots of S. alfredii treated with ABA and SL were noticeably greater than in the CK treatment in HC soil, while the uptake of metals were increased by IAA and CKs in SC soil. Combined with the results of biomass and metal contents in shoots, we found that ABA showed the highest Cd removal efficiency and the maximum Pb and Zn removal efficiency was observed with GA3, which was 62.99%, 269.23%, and 41.18%, respectively higher than the control in HC soil. Meanwhile, compared to control, the maximum removal efficiency of Cd by IAA treatment (52.80%), Pb by JA treatment (165.1%), and Zn by BR treatment (44.97%) in the SC soil. Overall, our results suggested that these PGRs, especially, ABA, SL, IAA, BR and GA3 had great potential in improving phytoremediation efficiency of S. alfredii grown in contaminated soils.

The effects of sodium chloride on pH, total soluble solid, phenolics, anthocyanins, and 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl radical-scavenging activity (DPPH) of grape juice during storage at 7, 20, and 30 degrees C were investigated in this study. The results indicated that during the 6-day storage, NaCl at concentrations of 17, 42.5, and 85 mmol/L delayed the decrease of total anthocyanins and DPPH effectively at 7, 20, and 30 degrees C. Except for 85 mmol/L at the late stages during storage, NaCl-treated samples showed higher levels of total phenolics than control groups stored at 7, 20, and 30 degrees C. Additionally, samples treated with NaCl showed significantly delayed decrease of pH and total soluble solids especially at 20 and 30 degrees C. DPPH showed positive and significant correlation with total soluble solids, total phenolics, and total anthocyanins with r of 0.298 (p < .05), 0.376 (p < .01), and 0.835 (p < .001), respectively, while no correlation with pH. Our results showed that NaCl has potential effect on maintaining the quality and extending shelf life of grape juice without preservatives. In addition, NaCl-treated grape juice could supplement water, electrolytes lost during exercise and antioxidant substances. Practical applications In this study, effects of NaCl on quality of grape juice during storage were investigated. NaCl effectively delayed decrease of anthocyanins and antioxidant activity and has potential effect on maintaining the quality grape juice. Additionally, NaCl-treated grape juice replenishes water, sodium, total soluble solids, antioxidant substances, etc., and provides a theoretical basis for the development of juice-type sports drinks.