Growth, yield and metal residues in Solanum melongena grown in fly ash amended soils.

Fly ash from Chandrapura Thermal Power Station, Bokaro, Jharkhand (India) was used for amending soil at levels 0, 60, 120, 180 and 240 tons ha-1 in which, brinjal (Solanum melongena) was grown and elemental residues of amended soil and plant parts were enumerated. Fly ash amendments caused significant improvement in soil quality, water holding capacity (52.64-65.76), pH (6.45-7.05), composition of photosynthetic pigment (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, total chlorophyll and carotenoid) and few growth parameters (fresh weight, root length, shoot length) of brinjal with the increase in fly ash amendments. Fruit (edible part) of plants grown in fly ash amended soils had metal residues (mg kg-1) like Cr (0.80-1.16), Co (0.34-1.46), Ni (0.85-1.00), Zn (24.41-32.33), Cu (10.61-15.49), and Mo (0.49-1.46) within the permissible limits. Results indicate that soil amended with fly ash at 180 tons ha -1, not only improved the physical properties of the soil but also contributed to the better growth and yield of brinjal.

Monitoring of extrinsic harmful residues in herbal paste / 中草药

Objective: To monitor the pesticide residues and heavy metal residues in the herbal paste and to provide the basis for the total quality control of the herbal paste. Methods: The contents of benzene hexachloride (BHC, containing α-BHC, β-BHC, γ-BHC, and δ-BHC), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane (DDT, containing PP'-DDE, PP'-DDD, OP'-DDT, and PP'-DDT), and pentachloroni- trobenzene (PCNB) were determined by using the method of gas chromatography. The contents of Pb, Cd, As, Hg, and Cu were determined by using atomic absorption spectrometry. Results: Pesticide residues in four batches of the herbal paste were as follows: The total BHC and DDT were less than 20 ng/g, and PCNB was less than 10 ng/g. The heavy metal residues were as follows: Pb was less than 0.5 μg/g, Cd was less than 30 ng/g, As and Hg were less than 0.2 μg/g, and Cu was less than 2 μg/g. Conclusion: Pesticide residues and heavy metal residues in the herbal paste accord with the limit standards of Chinese Pharmacopoeia and the EU rules.