Lithium in the natural environment and its migration in the trophic

Abstract

Lithium is a natural element with unique physical and chemical properties that determine its biological role in living organisms. Literary review summarizes and systematizes the results of long-term researches that have been conducted in different countries of the world in terms of lithium content in soils, water, air, plants, and foodstuffs. It has been shown that the variability of qualitative and quantitative composition of soils and water at different continents leads to significant differences in the concentration of lithium in plants. Vegetables, fruits, berries, grain crops, the products of livestock and poultry which are grown in different ecological environment are significantly differ in the content of the lithium. Lithium, being involved into the food chain, can have an impact on the human body. People with low lithium status meet slowdown in the growth of the cells, the reproductive function of the organism is impaired, there are problems in behavior, life expectancy is reduced, while high doses of this trace elements cause intoxication and can lead to pathological functional changes of individual organs or body systems at whole. Analysis of the actual consumption of the lithium with food and water indicates a low level of population provision with this trice element in most countries of the world. The data presented allow more objective assessment of the ecological and biogeochemical status of different geographical regions, and in the future to predict the level of lithium intakes with food into the human body, as well as to minimize the biological risks to human health which are associated with dangerous concentrations of this trace element.