Roadside Berry Picking and Pollution

[WVMountaineerJack]

Dont be picking any berries next to the road from now on, not just elderberries but all of them could have all this junk on them. CC

www.uwm.edu.pl/jelementol/index.171...fm1Gsa4PAFuuF2nuliVSTlqr9TLBxQ&oi=scholaralrt

EFFECT OF TRAFFIC POLLUTION
ON CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF RAW
ELDERBERRY (SAMBUCUS NIGRA L.)
Barbara Ko³odziej1 , Natalia Maksymiec1,
Katarzyna Dro¿d¿al1, Jacek Antonkiewicz2
1Chair of Industrial and Medicinal Plants
University of Life Sciences in Lublin
2Chair of Agricultural and Environmental Chemistry
University of Agriculture in Kraków
Abstract
The aim of the study was to determine the effect of road traffic on the chemical
composition of elderberry flowers and fruits. The raw material for the study was collected
from sixteen different wild stands in south-east Poland. Each stand was located at a different
distance from roads, carrying different loads of traffic. The raw material was collected
from June (flower) to August (fruit) 2009 and dried at 30°C. Determination of the content
of flavonoids (flavonols converted into quercetin) was performed by spectrophotometry according
to the Polish Pharmacopoeia VIII (2008) procedure. Some minerals, including heavy
metals (Cr, Zn, Pb, Cu, Cd, Ni, Fe and Mn), were determined with the ICP-AES method
after dry digestion of the plant material.
A closer distance to transportation routes and heavier traffic had a significant impact
on the chemical composition of raw elderberry, which had a lower total content of flavonoids
than the material collected from sites further away from roads. Significant correlation
was found between the content of Cr, Fe, Cd and Cu in elderberry fruit or the content of
Fe, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb and Mg in elderberry flowers and the influence of traffic, where
closer proximity and heavier road traffic contributed significantly to an increase in the concentration
of these elements in the analyzed raw material. The chemical composition of elderberry
flowers and fruits was significantly affected by the traffic and depended on a harvest
site.
Key words: elderberry

 

[Brew and Wine Supply]

I think they are still running straght leaded gas over there. Not like the highly refined pure stuff we have here.....

 

[janzz]

Dream on. They are not using leaded gas in Poland since 2005.

 

[russfink]

Yes but.

Did they thoroughly wash the berries, like any of us winemakers would, before drying and processing for spectrography? These are very likely airborne contaminants from combustion and breaking.

 

[WVMountaineerJack]

How do you thoroughly wash berries? Just rinsing them off in water doesnt do anything but wash off some dust. Washing isnt going to get rid of any fungus, bacteria or even all the bugs. CC

 

[ckassotis]

Nor is it going to wash off any of the pollutants.

 

[Bartman]

Seems to me the report simply shows you'll get some minerals along with your elderberry snack.
Seriously though, how many of us are picking roadside elderberries in Poland to eat or make wine? Or in any other country?

The conclusion that was most interesting to me: "It is worth noticing
that the content of each analyzed element was significantly related to
the site of raw material collection (the least significant difference P=0.05),
which implies that it was most likely influenced by the composition of soil
on which elderberry plants grew." - so it's the dirt along the side of the road that you don't want to harvest your elderberries/flowers from. The rural areas away from roads showed virtually no heavy metal contamination.

 

[TJsBasement]

Some polish berry wine and some fish from the great lakes and you got a perfect meal for a transformer.

 

[russfink]

To say washing the berries would have no effect on the observed results here is assuming a lot of things about the nature of the contaminants and their conveyance.

 

[Bartman]

To say washing the berries would have no effect on the observed results here is assuming a lot of things about the nature of the contaminants and their conveyance.

As I read the research, the contamination does not appear to be through airborne contaminants but through soil contamination from vehicle traffic and exhaust. So, it's coming through the soil into the plants/flowers/berries as they grow and develop. Washing the berries (as with any fruit) is a good idea, but it would not affect the composition of these particular fruit and the higher concentrations of heavy metals in the fruit.

 

[ckassotis]

To say washing the berries would have no effect on the observed results here is assuming a lot of things about the nature of the contaminants and their conveyance.

Not assuming much. Studies have shown that all that washing does (in the hands of a typical person) is remove some dust and debris and probably insects.

It is however not going to remove the wide variety of contaminants, pesticides, herbicides, etc. Many of these are manufactured to incorporate themselves into the skin of the fruits, which is part of the basis for the "Dirty Dozen" fruits that you are recommended to buy organic, vs. the "Clean Fifteen" that are fine to buy non-organic.