Insights of phenolic status and health benefits of celery and 2 parsley against toxicity level of trace elements

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Abstract: Celery and parsley are herbs utilized in every day diet as spices and culinary flavorings, and often used in chemical and medicinal industry. Despite the knowing benefits of umbelliferous, their chemical composition is closely associated with various extrinsic factors. Environmental loading with trace elements (TEs) can modify plant’s metabolic pathways, change bioactive compounds production, cause plant’s pollution, or consequently provoke human health issues. Therefore, we established this research aiming to unravel linkage between TEs accumulation and phenolic status of selected umbelliferous. Higher As, Cd and Ni levels was observed in celery, which was followed by greater DPPH^∙ radical scavenging activity and higher coumarins content. Contrary, parsley accumulated chromium to a greater extent, was richer in flavonoids, apigenin and its glucosides. No significant difference between species was found in total phenolic contents, where ferulic and chlorogenic acid dominated in both species. Direct relationship between TEs and selected secondary metabolites was proven by standardized major axis model. Beside abundant bioactive compounds, analyzed plant species showed moderate hazard index in children population. Therefore, future perspective should be turn towards production of genotypes with lower potential for toxic elements accumulation, so health benefits of plant food will be more prominent.