Human health risk assessment of cinnamate UV absorbers: In vitro and in silico investigations.

Organic UV absorbers (UVAs) are contaminants of emerging concern. Environmental persistence and potential toxicological enrichment studies of UVAs have attracted international concern. It is important to study the toxicity mechanism of UVAs. This study is the first to report the toxicological mechanism of two cinnamate UV absorbers (CUVAs), 2-ethyl 4-methoxycinnamate (OMC) and isoamyl 4-methoxycinnamate (IMC) based on cellular models and molecular models. Cellular models demonstrated that the CUVAs-induced apoptosis might be associated with cellular mitochondrial damage pathways. The results of molecular models showed that OMC and IMC could affect the binding between major proteins and enzymes in the mitochondrial damage pathway and contaminants, ultimately leading to apoptosis. The cellular-molecular models showed that IMC and OMC have dose-effect relationships on cytotoxicity. The composite model is more informative than a single model. This study further indicate that UVAs causes toxicology effects that have implications for the environment and human health.

Imaging human serum albumin behavior in process of PVOCs transportation in vivo: Spectroscopy analysis insight.

Pomelo volatile organic compounds (PVOCs) are used as food additives to provide unique flavors, thus, and the possible effects of VOC binding to albumin should be considered. Headspace solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography-mass spectrometry was used to fingerprints adsorption of PVOCs on human serum albumin (HSA). Spectral data and molecular modeling were used to establish a binding model between PVOCs and HSA. Twenty-one common components were identified, and dipentene, linalylacetate, and nootkatone were identified as characteristic components. Thermodynamic calculations showed that dipentene and linalylacetate bound to HSA via van der Waals forces and hydrophobic interactions, whereas nootkatone bound to HSA via van der Waals forces alone. Molecular modeling showed that the volatile components were all bound to the hydrophobic pocket of HSA site I. Our results provide a useful basis for quality evaluation of pomelo and explain the mechanism of interaction between PVOCs and HSA.

Effects of polystyrene microplastics on the seed germination of herbaceous ornamental plants.

Although microplastic (MP) pollution has become an environmental issue worldwide, most related research has been confined to marine ecosystems. The impacts of MPs on terrestrial ecosystems, and especially on terrestrial plants, are poorly studied. In our study, different particle sizes (2 µm and 80 nm) and different concentrations (0, 10, 50, 100, and 500 mg·L-1) of polystyrene MPs were selected as the experimental materials, and their effects on three herbaceous ornamental plants, Trifolium repens, Orychophragmus violaceus, and Impatiens balsamina, were investigated. Seed germination tendency, germination rate, and various physiological and biochemical indicators were observed in the treated plants. The germination rates and germination potentials of these plants decreased significantly as the polystyrene MP concentration increased. Root formation, as well as a decrease in root hair density, was observed. The catalase, superoxide dismutase, hydrogen peroxide, proline, soluble protein, and soluble sugar contents all showed overall trends that increased first and then decreased, which conformed to the "Plant-ES" equation. Thus, polystyrene MPs appeared to have significant inhibitory effects on the seed germination processes of herbaceous ornamental plants.