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Currently, the negative effects of unified and intensive agriculture are of growing concern. To mitigate them, the possibilities of using local but nowadays underused crop for food production should be more thoroughly investigated and promoted. The soybean is the major crop cultivated for vegetable oil production in Zambia, while the oil production from local oil-bearing plants is neglected. The chemical composition of oils and cakes of a three traditional oil plant used by descendants of the Lozi people for cooking were investigated. Parinari curatellifolia and Schinziophyton rautanenii oils were chiefly composed of α-eleostearic (28.58–55.96%), linoleic (9.78–40.18%), and oleic acid (15.26–24.07%), whereas Ochna serrulata contained mainly palmitic (35.62–37.31%), oleic (37.31–46.80%), and linoleic acid (10.61–18.66%), the oil yield was high (39–71%). S. rautanenii and O. serrulata oils were rich in γ-tocopherol (3236.18 μg/g, 361.11 μg/g, respectively). The O. serrulata oil also had a very distinctive aroma predominantly composed of p-cymene (52.26%), m-xylene (9.63%), γ-terpinene (9.07%), o-xylene (7.97), and limonene (7.23%). The cakes remaining after oil extraction are a good source of essential minerals, being rich in N, P, S, K, Ca, and Mg. These plants have the potential to be introduced for use in the food, technical, or pharmaceutical industries.

Recently, Samoans have faced to alarming increase in the prevalence of obesity related diseases, which are connected to the consumption of imported calorie-rich and nutrient-poor food products. It is believed that the re-introduction of native diet may mitigate these negative trends. In Samoa, the seeds of Adenanthera pavonina, an underutilized leguminous tree, are popularly eaten when roasted. Although the seeds are also used in traditional medicine to treat inflammatory and cardiovascular diseases, information on their nutrients and any compounds potentially reducing risks of related health disorders is very limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyse the nutrients and compounds potentially reducing risks of overweight- and obesity-related health problems in raw and roasted A. pavonina seeds from Samoa. The standard analytical and microbiological methods, namely gas chromatography–mass spectrometry, inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry, high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection, ultrahigh-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, and Czech technical standard methods, were used for the determination of fatty acids, minerals, tocopherols, phenolic compounds, and B vitamins, respectively. The analyses showed that the lignoceric (17.59% and 18.24%), linoleic (39.80% and 37.88%), and oleic acids (14.67% and 14.75%) were the most abundant in the oil of raw and roasted seeds, with the unsaturated forms present in higher amounts than saturated. The seeds were found to be rich of vitamin E (33.09 and 15.94 mg/100 g), whereas the contents of vitamins B1, B2, B3, and B6 were rather low. Calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and sulphur were the minerals found in the highest concentrations. Salicylic acid (201.01 and 151.95 µg/100 g) has been detected in higher amounts than other phenolic compounds. In summary, the findings of this study indicate that the both raw and roasted seeds of A. pavonina are good sources of various health-beneficial nutrients, including those reducing the negative effects of obesity.

The recent rapid expansion of nanotechnologies has increased concern over the impact of engineered nanoparticles (ENPs) on the environment and biota. Although the toxicity of ENPs has received considerable attention in the recent years, there are still gaps in our knowledge of the mechanisms responsible for their effects. In this study, we tested the toxicity of various metal oxide ENPs (Al2O3, CuO, Fe3O4, MnO, TiO2, and ZnO), including nanowires together with their bulk counter particles and soluble metal salts, on germinating seeds of Sinapis alba L. Fe3O4, TiO2, MnO2, and Al2O3 ENPs did not negatively affected seed germination at any tested concentrations. However, CuO and ZnO ENPs showed a dose-dependent inhibition of germination. Metal ions were more toxic than metal oxide particles at corresponding concentrations. The highest toxicity was exhibited by Cu, followed by Zn, Fe, Al, and Mn ions. A comparison of ENPs with bulk materials did not reveal significantly higher ENP toxicity. Similarly, nanowires showed effects similar to other nanoparticles and bulk materials. Our results indicate that the nanosize or shape of particles did not play a crucial role, whereas metal ions released into cultivation media and accumulated in seedlings contributed significantly to the phytotoxicity of metal oxides.

Soil acidification promotes Al release from minerals and parent bedrocks; it also affects Al mobilization and speciation. Speciation of KCl extractable and water-extractable Al in forest soils was done by means of HPLC/IC method. Species Al 3+ were the most abundant Al forms in the KCl extracts (around 93%). Prevailing Al forms (more than 70%) in aqueous extracts were Al(X) 1+ , {i.e., Al ( OH ) 2 + , Al ( SO 4 ) + , AlF 2 + , Al(oxalate) + , Al(H-citrate) + , etc.} species. It is assumed that most of KCl and water-extractable Al is bound in soil sorption complex (i.e., highly dispersed colloidal fraction of the soil solid phase creating negative charge) where majority of Al exists in the form of Al 3+ species. The ECEC values, total carbon content and parameters related to soil organic matter composition (N and S content) have apparent effect on Al speciation. The most toxic Al 3+ species are more concentrated in the B horizons compared to the A and E horizons. Aqueous extracts simulate Al release to soil solution under normal conditions; it can thus exhibit the actual Al toxicity. On the other hand, KCl extraction describes a potential threat for case of strong disturbance of natural soil conditions.

This work evaluates the in vitro inhibitory activity of 70 essential oils (EOs) in the vapor phase for the control of Chalkbrood disease caused by Ascosphaera apis Maassen ex Claussen (Olive et Spiltoir). Two wild strains isolated from infected honey bee colonies together with one standard collection strain were tested by the microatmosphere method. From 70 EOs, 39 exhibited an antifungal effect against A. apis standard and wild strains. The greatest antifungal action was observed for EO vapors from Armoracia rusticana, followed by Thymus vulgaris, Cymbopogon flexosus, Origanum vulgare and Allium sativum. An investigation of chemical composition by GC-MS revealed, that the most active EOs contained allyl isothiocyanate, citral, carvacrol and diallyl sulfides as the main constituents. The chemical composition plays a key role, as activities of different EOs from the same botanical species were different according to their composition.

In order to determine the mobility of Pb, Zn and Cd in soils from the Přibram region (Czech Republic) heavily contaminated by metallurgy, two profiles of alluvial soils were closely studied. Total contents of heavy metals were determined a�er digestion with a mixture of HF and HClO4. Heavy metal mobility was assessed using the mobility factor (MF) that represents the proportion of heavy metals present in the exchangeable and carbonate bound fraction based on the Tessier’s sequential extraction procedure. The MF ranged from 2 to 46% for lead, 19 to 62% for zinc and 61 to 94% for cadmium. The profile distribution of zinc and cadmium showed a variable development with depth, which is caused by high amounts of these metals present in labile forms. The profile distribution of lead (the least mobile metal) is characterized by a gradual decrease with depth. The results indicate a higher contamination of the soil profile situated 2.5 km away from the smelter in comparison with the profile in its close vicinity. This fact confirms the existence of extreme fluvial contamination.

Chlortoluron transport was studied in five different soil types and under varying climatic conditions. The chlortolu-ron mobility in the monitored soils increases as follows: Albic Luvisol = Haplic Luvisol < Haplic Cambisol < Haplic Stagnosol < Greyic Phaozem. Significantly high concentrations in the top layer of Haplic Stagnosol were observed due to the high presence of coarse gravel (30–40%) and flow profile reduction up to 60%. The content of remaining chlortoluron in the soil profile corresponds to the herbicide mobility. The percentages of remaining chlortoluron were 46.1% in Albic Luvisol, 54.6% in Haplic Luvisol, 65.0% in Haplic Cambisol, 69.6% in Haplic Stagnosol and 102.9% in Greyic Phaozem. The highest herbicide degradations were at the locations with lower observed mobility and herbi-cide present mainly in the top layer. Occurrence of the remaining chlortoluron percentage in Greyic Phaozem higher than 100% was caused mainly by the herbicide transport through the preferential paths and restricted degradation in subsurface layers. Variability of chlortoluron distributions in the soil profiles observed at the three positions of the same location occurred due to the heterogeneity of the soil profile and an uneven distribution of chlortoluron on the soil surface. The BPS mathematical model (Kozak and Vacek 1996) connected with the soil database (Kozak et al. 1996) was used to simulate chlortoluron transport. The simulated chlortoluron concentrations follow approximately the measured data except for Greyic Phaozem, where a preferential flow highly influenced solution transport. The BPS model with the soil database can be used for estimation of the chlortoluron transport.Keywords: pesticides; chlortoluron; degradation; solution transport; field and numerical studySupported by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic, Project No. QF 3250.