Rocket (Eruca vesicaria (L.) Cav.) vs. Copper: The Dose Makes the Poison?

The effects of copper addition, from various adsorbents, on the accumulation ability and glucosinolate content of cultivated rocket were studied. Different adsorbents (zeolite NaX, egg shells, substrate, fly ash) were treated with copper(II) solution with an adsorption efficiency of 98.36, 96.67, 51.82 and 39.13%, respectively. The lowest copper content and the highest total glucosinolate content (44.37 mu g/g DW and 4269.31 mu g/g DW, respectively) were detected in the rocket grown in the substrate with the addition of a substrate spiked with copper(II) ions. Rocket grown in the fly ash-substrate mixture showed an increase in copper content (84.98 mu g/g DW) and the lowest total glucosinolate content (2545.71 mu g/g DW). On the other hand, when using the egg shells-substrate mixture, the rocket copper content increased (113.34 mu g/g DW) along with the total GSLs content (3780.03 mu g/g DW), indicating the influence of an adsorbent type in addition to the copper uptake. The highest copper content of 498.56 mu g/g DW was detected in the rocket watered with copper(II) solution with a notable decrease in the glucosinolate content, i.e., 2699.29 mu g/g DW. According to these results rocket can be considered as a copper accumulator plant.