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Variation in accumulation of heavy metals in vegetables and low accumulation vegetable varieties: A review
Received:August 18, 2018  
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KeyWord:heavy metal pollution;low accumulation vegetable;species variation;screening standard
Author NameAffiliationE-mail
DU Jun-jie College of Food Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, China
Key Laboratory of Food Safety Risk Assessment of Ministry of Health, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100021, China 
 
LI Na College of Food Science, Shanxi Normal University, Linfen 041004, China  
WU Yong-ning Key Laboratory of Food Safety Risk Assessment of Ministry of Health, China National Center for Food Safety Risk Assessment, Beijing 100021, China  
ZHOU Qi-xing Key Laboratory of Pollution Processes and Environmental Criteria(Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Environmental Remediation and Pollution Control, College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Nankai University, Tianjin 300071, China zhouqx@nankai.edu.cn 
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Abstract:
      Heavy metals in soils can be easily accumulated by various vegetables. The problem of metal pollution in vegetables should be of concern due to health risks. Low heavy metal accumulation vegetable cultivars (LAVCs) refer to some cultivars where the concentration of heavy metals in their edible parts should not exceed the maximum limits of the national or international standards when they are grown in heavy metal contaminated soils. The growth of LAVCs is a practicable and cost-effective approach to minimize the influx of heavy metals to the human food chain, and to utilize low or moderate heavy metal contaminated soils reasonably and effectively. In this review, research progresses involving variation in the accumulation of heavy metals in vegetable species, various cultivars, and different vegetable organs were summarized. Leafy vegetables accumulated more heavy metals compared with other vegetables. The low and high heavy metal accumulation cultivars coexisted among various cultivars within a species, and the accumulation property of vegetables was genotype-dependent at the cultivar level. This review also included the screening criteria, screening methods, and selected LAVCs. The main methods for screening LAVCs included pot-culture experiments and field-testing. Many LAVCs were selected from the candidate cultivars, and a majority of the selected LAVCs was low-Cd accumulating cultivars of leafy vegetables. Furthermore, the mechanisms of variation in vegetable accumulation of heavy metals among various cultivars within a species were analyzed. They might be attributed to the morphology and physiological responses of plant roots, differential gene expression, and the transport coefficient, chemical forms, bioavailability, and sub-cellular distribution of heavy metals in different plant parts. In summary, this review provides important reference materials for the application and study of LAVCs, which should help in ensuring human health and the safe production of vegetables.