Characterization of a cadmium-zinc complex in lettuce leaves

Vegetable food contributes a higher amount of daily cadmium (Cd) intake in humans than food of animal origin. The bioavailability of plant Cd depends on the content of plant zinc (Zn). The mechanism by which increased plant Zn lowers the intestinal absorption of plant Cd could be mediated by changes in the chemical speciation of Cd or Zn in plant edible tissues, including Zn-induced phytochelatin synthesis. To test this hypothesis we investigated the chemical speciation of Cd and Zn in leaf extracts of lettuce grown under 10 microM of Cd accompanied by 0.32 or 31.6 microM Zn in nutrient solution. Gel filtration chromatography of the low- or high-Zn leaf extracts yielded a major low molecular weight Cd-Zn complex that eluted at similar elution volume. Compared to low-Zn leaf extracts, high-Zn leaf extracts contained a higher proportion of Zn incorporated into high molecular weight components, and higher content of the amino acids Cys, Gly, Gly, and Asp in the low molecular weight Cd-Zn complex. The peptides isolated by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) of the Cd-Zn complex from the low- or high-Zn leaf extracts did not have an amino acid composition identical to phytochelatins. We concluded that 1. Sequestration of Cd or Zn via phytochelatin does not occur in leaves of lettuce containing levels of those metals representatives of Zn-Cd or Cd-only contaminated crops; and 2. Higher Cys, Glu, Gly, and Asp content in high-Zn than low-Zn leaves could lower Cd absorption in animals fed high-Zn crop diets, by enhancing metallothionein synthesis or changing Cd or Zn speciation in the animal gut.