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Abstract:

Despite the fact that the fruits and vegetables consumption is generally associated with reduced risk of major diseases, in many cases their consumption is still below the dietary guideline goal. In order to evaluate the human health impact associated with vegetables consumption, it is vital to monitor the quality of the agricultural soil and the cultivated vegetables. The aims of the present study were: (1) to analyse the ions content in different vegetables, in the greenhouses soil on which the vegetables are grown and in the water used for irrigation; (2) to evaluate the ions distribution with the soil depth; (3) to evaluate the seasonal fluctuations of ions content in vegetables, greenhouse soils and irrigation water; (4) to investigate the transfer ratio of the analysed ions from soil to plant; and (5) to calculate the ions intake rate via vegetables ingestion. The most abundant ions present in soil solution were NO₃^- (0.06 – 5,619.30 mg/kg), Na⁺ (0.02 – 437.97 mg/kg), SO₄^2- (0.06 – 390.93 mg/kg) and K⁺ (0.024 – 337.05 mg/kg). Generally, the ions content slightly decreased from summer to autumn and decreased with the soil depth. With the exception of F^-, NO₂^- and NO₃^-, the ions content in the irrigation water was within the limits imposed by national legislation. The nitrate and nitrite intake caused by the ingestion of the analysed vegetables represents up to 2.15% and 9.05% from the adequate daily intake. The consumption of investigated vegetables provides relatively high intake of Cl^-, PO₄^3-, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺ and Ca²⁺.