Cultivars and oil extraction techniques affect Cd/Pb contents and health risks in oil of rapeseed grown on Cd/Pb-contaminated farmland

Highlights

● Organic solvent extracted fewer Cd/Pb in rapeseed oil than physical pressing.

● Brassica rapa transferred fewer Cd and Pb from seed to oil than Brassica napus .

● Carcinogenic risk mainly from Cd and worth more concern than noncarcinogenic risk.

● Organic solvent specially SLB pose less heath risk for oil than physical pressing.

● Rapeseed oil posed higher carcinogenic risk for rural residents than urban.

Abstract

Substitute planting with rapeseed offers promise for safely using large areas of Cd/Pb-contaminated farmland. Cd/Pb distributions during rapeseed oil production were investigated and health risks posed by the oil were assessed. Tests were performed using three cultivars (Brassica rapa SYH and ZS100 and Brassica napus QY-1) and four oil extraction techniques (mechanical and low-temperature pressing and n-hexane and subcritical low-temperature butane extraction). The amounts of Cd and Pb in oil were 0.73%–8.44% and 3.14%–11.76%, respectively, of the amounts in rapeseed and were strongly affected by the cultivar and oil extraction technique. The heavy metal (HM) concentrations were lower in solvent-extracted oil (particularly subcritical low-temperature butane extracted oil, in which HMs were not detected) than mechanically pressed oil. The Cd and Pb transfer indices were lower (meaning larger proportions of HMs were retained by the rapeseed meal) for B. rapa than B. napus. This was attributed to a high HM binding protein content of B. rapa seed. Health risks to humans were assessed using a probabilistic risk assessment model. The carcinogenic risk was mainly (97.1%–99.9%) caused by Cd and poses more concern than non-carcinogenic risk. Stronger health risks are posed by mechanically pressed than solvent-extracted oil, and higher carcinogenic risks are posed to people living in rural areas than urban areas. Substitute planting with B. rapa and extracting oil with organic solvent (preferably subcritical low-temperature butane) are optimal for safely utilizing Cd/Pb-contaminated soil. Attention should be paid to the health risks posed by Cd in oil to rural populations.

Graphical abstract

Keywords

Rapeseed oil / Oil extraction technologies / Human health risk assessment / Cd/Pb-contaminated farmland / Substitute planting

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Acknowledgements

The research was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Nos. 41907125 and 41771509) and China Postdoctoral Science Foundation (No. 2019M650827). We thank Gareth Thomas, PhD, from Liwen Bianji (Edanz), for editing the language of a draft of this manuscript.

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