Fungicides make zucchini soak up more ibuprofen from soil
Urbaniak M, Inui H, Wyrwicka-Drewniak A, Tomczyk P, Kózka B
Phytoremediation
If you reuse treated wastewater or biosolids-amended soil in a home garden alongside fungicide sprays, this study suggests your squash plants could be absorbing more pharmaceutical residue and showing more stress than either chemical would cause on its own.
Scientists grew zucchini plants in soil containing ibuprofen (yes, the pain reliever can end up in farm soil through treated wastewater and biosolids) and then added common fungicides to see what happened. They found the fungicides changed how much ibuprofen the plant's roots soaked up, with one fungicide called validamycin A significantly boosting uptake, and two others caused real plant stress: smaller plants, less green pigment, and more cell damage. It's a reminder that chemicals rarely act alone in the real world, and mixing them can change how plants respond.
Key Findings
Ibuprofen accumulated mainly in zucchini roots, and root levels rose numerically with benomyl and significantly with validamycin A compared to ibuprofen alone
Co-exposure with benomyl and chlorothalonil reduced plant biomass and photosynthetic pigments while altering antioxidant and detoxification responses; the ibuprofen plus benomyl combo caused the highest lipid peroxidation
Molecular docking showed ibuprofen could plausibly bind a zucchini membrane protein (CpMLP-SY1), with root metabolic disruptions concentrated in amino acid and secondary metabolism pathways
chevron_right Technical Summary
When ibuprofen-contaminated soil also contains common fungicides, zucchini plants absorb more of the drug into their roots and suffer worse stress damage, including dented photosynthesis and increased cell damage, than from the drug alone.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
Fungicide co-exposure influences ibuprofen accumulation, distribution and phytotoxicological responses in zucchini (Cucurbita pepo).
Pharmaceuticals introduced into agricultural soils through wastewater reuse and biosolids application may coexist with crop-protection products, yet the influence of fungicides on pharmaceutical up...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
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Zucchini, courgette, or Cucurbita pepo var. cylindrica is a summer squash, a vining herbaceous plant whose fruit are harvested when their immature seeds and epicarp (rind) are still soft and edible. It is closely related, but not identical, to the marrow; its fruit may be called marrow when mature.