Biochar and melatonin alleviate microplastic-cadmium (MP-Cd) stress in rice by enhancing antioxidant activity and regulating Cd transport.
Yang Y, Ye C, Liu L, Wang Y, Qu K
Phytoremediation
Rice grown in soils laced with microplastics and industrial cadmium can carry both into your body — and this study shows that mixing two relatively accessible amendments into contaminated soil cuts how much of that cadmium actually ends up in the grain.
Researchers grew rice in soil spiked with tiny plastic particles and cadmium — a toxic metal that seeps into farmland from industrial pollution and fertilizers. The plants were stunted, pale, and loaded with cadmium until the team mixed in biochar (a type of charcoal made from burned plant material) and melatonin (the same hormone humans use for sleep, which plants also produce). Together, those two amendments helped the rice bounce back, boosted its natural defenses against damage, and sharply reduced how much cadmium traveled from the soil into the plant's tissues.
Key Findings
Combined biochar (2%) and melatonin (100 µM) increased chlorophyll content by 82% and antioxidant enzyme activity by 57–99% compared to contaminated-only plants.
The co-application significantly downregulated cadmium transporter genes (OsNRAMP1 and OsHMA3), directly limiting how much cadmium moved from roots into above-ground tissues.
Soil fertility improved alongside plant health: nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and soil organic carbon all increased, while cadmium bioavailability in the soil decreased.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Combining biochar and melatonin in contaminated soil dramatically reduced how much cadmium rice plants absorbed and helped them grow normally despite being surrounded by microplastics and heavy metal pollution. This pairing worked better than either treatment alone, offering a practical soil-remediation approach for polluted farmland.
Abstract Preview
Soil contamination by microplastics (MPs) and heavy metals (HMs), particularly cadmium (Cd), poses an emerging threat to agricultural sustainability, food safety, and human health. Although the ind...
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