Biochar amendment improves lettuce quality in metal-contaminated soils

Biochar produced by the combustion of fresh plant biomass is able to improve the physic-chemical characteristics of soils. The possibility to use biochar, which also adsorbs toxic compounds preventing or limiting their entry in the food chain, may give both strategic and economic advantages., The research has taken into consideration some aspects related to food safety and in particular the exclusion from food of toxic substances present in the soil. Indeed, the accumulation of these compounds in plants, besides negatively influencing crop yields, causes an alteration of food quality and the reduction or disappearance of healthy nutraceutical molecules considered to be preventive agents of the most common diseases., The study aimed to i) evaluate the effect of biochar amendment on the uptake of copper by lettuce, and ii) to study whether copper concentration influenced the antioxidative power of lettuce as well as the concentration of some protective compounds (ascorbate, glutathione, phenolics) important for human health