Plant Test Organisms in Bioassay of Tap Water Treated with a Flint Mineral

Abstract

We investigated samples of flint minerals from the lime deposits of Donetsk (gray flint) and Kamenets-Podolsk (black flint) regions of Ukraine by thermogravimetry and differential thermal analysis. Both minerals contain up to 1% of the organic phase. Bioassay of “silica water” was performed using two plant test organisms: onion Allium cepa (a monocotyledonous plant) and wheat Triticum vulgare grain; tap water infused with both black and gray flint stimulates the germination of onion roots and affects the length of the roots of wheat grain. The concentration of silicon is an essential factor in the stimulating effect of silica water on the development and growth of research plants. With a decrease in the flint particle size from d > 0.5 mm to d < 0.25 mm, the silicon concentration in tap water increases from 1.8 to 8.1 mg/dm³. There is a concentration dependence of the stimulating effect of the microelement on biological objects. The method of water purification with flint minerals can be practically implemented both under static conditions by infusing water with flint and under dynamic conditions by water filtration through columns packed with the mineral. The studies suggest the high biological activity of silicon in the aqueous medium, which creates a theoretical basis for the use of this mineral as a stimulator of the growth and development of plant organisms and may indicate the beneficial effect of silica water on living organisms.