IWONA RADECKA, MAREK WESOŁOWSKI
Rtęć, pierwiastek niebezpieczny dla organizmów żywych
2007-11-22
Mercury, the dangerous element for living organisms. Used in therapeutic purposes medicinal plant raw materials may, regardless their curative effect, cause sometimes additional impact of numerous substances physiologically useless or toxic for human organism. From the literature review it can be noticed, that in many cases plants have high selective properties in acquisition of heavy metals, also with mercury, which leads to undesired intoxication of a patient's organism with the element. Because of this, important matter is to permanently monitor the concentration of heavy metals in plant raw materials used by the herbal industry. Since mercury is one of the most toxic elements for humans, it was decided to describe physicochemical properties and application of this element, as well as to characterize the data on the contents and toxic influence of mercury on plants and human organism.