Growth of Falcataria moluccana and Albizia chinensis seedling under aluminum exposure

Salim MA, Setyaningsih L, Wahyudi I, Budi SW. 2021. Growth of Falcataria moluccana and Albizia chinensis seedling under aluminum exposure. Biodiversitas 22: 3693-3701. Aluminum (Al) is an element found in acid soils and is one of the limiting factors for plant growth. This study aims to examine the growth of Falcataria moluccana (Miq.) Barneby & J.W.Grimes and Albizia chinensis (Osbeck) Merr seedlings under exposure of aluminum. This study used an one-factor completely randomized design (Al concentration) consisting of 5 levels, namely 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8 mM. Each treatment was repeated 3 times and each replication consisted of 3 plant units. The results showed that the Al exposure treatment gave significant differences in the growth of height, root length, dry weight (root, shoot, and total) of F. moluccana and A. chinensis seedlings. The 2 mM Al concentration stimulated the growth of height, root length and dry weight (root, shoot, and total) of A. chinensis seedlings. The tolerance index for F. moluccana and A. chinensis seedlings was highest when the Al 2 mM concentration was 147.55% and 115.32%, respectively. 2 mM Al exposure treatment increased the chlorophyll content a, b, total chlorophyll and carotenoids of F. moluccana and A. chinensis seedlings. Al exposure treatment did not significantly differ from the rate of photosynthesis and MDA content in F. moluccana and A. chinensis seedlings. The Al content in the roots was higher than in the shoots, and the increase in Al concentration increased the Al content in the roots and shoots of F. moluccana and A. chinensis seedlings.

Effect of aluminum chloride against changes of the histological structure of the cerebral cortex of mice (swiss webster)

The toxicity of metal to living organisms, including human beings, was discovered a long time ago. In the present time, aluminum exposure is widely used for wrapping food to keep it taste and smell. However it will affect to human health security, specially the brain. This study aimed to investigate the changes of histological Structure on the cerebral cortex caused by aluminum chloride. The mice were injected intraperitoneally with AlCl3 200 mg per kg body weight, once every 3 days, totalizing 10 administrations. Control only was administration distilled water. Histological observations were carried out using the paraffin method. The results of this study show that aluminum chloride cause disorganization of the laminated cerebral cortex, vacuolization, karyolysis, congestion, and hemorrhage. The mice of one and two-months of age group were more susceptible to aluminum chloride than the mice of the three-months of age group. This research can apply for an assessment of the exposure risk to heavy metal. Increasing Al contamination can occur naturally or by anthropogenic activities. The accumulation of the heavy metal in the organism can occur by biomagnification, by which heavy metal is passed from one trophic level to the next within a food web. Therefore communities that live in urban areas potentially exposed to metals aluminum and should be more concerned related to understanding health risks. Further studies are needed to examine the

Does aluminum exposure affect cognitive function? a comparative cross-sectional study

Objectives This study assessed the cognitive function of aluminum-exposed participants from an alum mining zone, compared them with unexposed subjects, and aimed to elucidate the effect of aluminum exposure on cognition. Design This was a comparative cross-sectional study. Univariate analyses were used to assess the differences between the aluminum-exposed and unexposed groups. Binary logistic regression models were applied to analyze the effect of aluminum exposure. Setting The aluminum-exposed participants were included from an alum mining zone and the unexposed subjects were residents from another district without alum-mine-related factories. Participants We included 539 aluminum-exposed participants (254 men, 285 women) and 1720 unexposed participants (692 men, 1028 women). Results The mean cognition score on Mini-Mental State Examination was 21.34 (± 6.81) for aluminum-exposed participants. The exposed group had 6.77 times (95% confidence interval, 5.09–9.00) more risk of cognitive impairment than the unexposed group, after adjusting for age, sex, and educational level. No statistically significant association was found between exposure duration and cognition. Conclusions This study demonstrated a significant association between aluminum exposure and lower cognitive function.

Verapamil administration alleviates microcytosis and tissue accumulation after chronic aluminum exposure in rats

Introduction/Objective. Research has demonstrated the toxicant potential of aluminum, but no therapeutic options have been suggested. The aim of the study was to investigate the extent of the aluminum-induced toxicity, evaluated by hematological/biochemical disarrangements, hepcidin concentration and tissue accumulation after chronic aluminum exposure and to determine possible protection with Ca2+-channel blockage, verapamil. Methods. Experimental animals (36 rats) were treated with different doses of AlCl3 during 8 weeks and after that their blood and tissues were analyzed. Results. The significant differences, regardless of the aluminum dose administered, were documented in all evaluated hematological (p < 0.001) and biochemical parameters (p < 0.001), as well as in aluminum tissue deposition in liver, kidneys and testicles (p < 0.001), respectively. After verapamil administration, a significant improvement in some hematological and biochemical parameters was demonstrated, p < 0.001, as well as the attenuation of aluminum deposits in liver and testes, p < 0.001. Evaluated parameters of inflammation and kidney deposition did not show significant change after verapamil application. Conclusion. The findings indicate that chronic AlCl3 intoxication, regardless of the dose, results in the microcytic anemia associated with high hepcidin levels, numerous biochemical abnormalities and significant aluminum deposition in liver, kidney and testes and that these effects may be attenuated by verapamil administration. Overall, the results emphasize the significance of calcium homeostasis preservation in chronic aluminum exposure and propose possible therapeutic option.