Carotenoids and Antioxidant Enzymes as Biomarkers of the Impact of Heavy Metals in food Chain

Vangelis Andrianos¹*, Vasiliki Stoikou¹, Konstantina Tsikrika³, Dimitra Lamprou¹, Sotiris Stasinos¹, Charalampos Proestos¹, and Ioannis Zabetakis^1,2

¹Laboratory  of  Food  Chemistry,  Department  of  Chemistry,  University  of   Athens,  15771,  Athens,  Greece
²Department of Life Sciences, University of Limerick, Limerick, Ireland
³School of Science, Engineering & Technology, Abertay University, Dundee, Scotland.

Corresponding Author Email: vandrianos@chem.uoa.gr

Antioxidant enzymes (catalase and peroxidase) and carotenoids lutein and  β-carotene are often used as biomarkers of metal contamination of water  and agricultural soils. In this study, the effects of heavy metals present in  irrigation water on the aforementioned carotenoids of potatoes Solanum  tuberosum L. and carrots Daucus carota L., cultivated in a greenhouse and irrigated with a water solution including different levels of Cr(VI) and Ni(II) were investigated. These results were compared to the levels of the same metabolites that had been assessed in market-available potato and carrot samples. The findings indicated that the levels of the examined metabolites on the treated with Cr and Ni samples, resemble the levels of the same parameters in the market samples, originating from polluted areas. Therefore, the antioxidant enzymes, catalase and peroxidase, and the carotenoids,  lutein and β-carotene, could be handled as indicators of heavy metal pollution.

Heavy metals; Food tubers; Antioxidant enzymes; Carotenoids; Biomarkers

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