The industrial zone in Lukavac, a city in northeastern Bosnia and Herzegovina, is highly developed with large industrial complexes such as a cement factory, a soda factory, and a fertilizer factory. The location of the soil samples taken is next to the Tuzla-Doboj main road, near the cement factory and near the regulated Jala river. The impact of lead as a heavy metal in the surface layers of the soil usually ranges from 2 to 100 mg/kg, but lead is a strong pollutant of the environment and is toxic even in low concentrations. The population often uses medicinal plants near the location of the soil samples from which they make tea and other preparations. Also, near the location of the soil samples, there are artesian wells from which the population of Lukavac is supplied with water. The samples showed that there is a concentration of lead in the soil for a neutral to slightly basic pH ranging between 7.44 and 7.97. The paper analyzes the content of lead in oil and salve made from St. John’s wort plants from the locality of soil sampling and the relationship between the concentration of lead in the soil and the mentioned St. John’s wort preparations. The concentration of lead in oil and salve made from St. John’s wort was tested using the method of atomic absorption spectrometry. The influence of lead on soil pollution and on the pollution of oil and salve made from St. John’s wort plants are important from the aspect of human health, but also from the aspect of infiltration of rainwater into the deeper layers of the soil, which also pollutes the underground water at the location. The analyzes performed showed a higher concentration of lead in St. John’s wort salve than in oil made from the same St. John’s wort plants for lead concentrations in the soil between 4.60 mg/kg and 14.06 mg/kg.

Based on the conducted analyses, it can be concluded that the concentration of lead in the soil at the sampling location in the industrial zone of Lukavac influenced the presence of lead in the oil and salve made from St. John’s wort, however, very little lead was absorbed by St. John’s wort. The reason for this is most likely the slightly basic character of the soil, since it is known that heavy metals, including lead, have better biological availability in more acidic soil. The concentration of lead in the soil could be lower compared to acidic soils, so there is still a risk of its transfer to the plant species, in the context of this study St. John’s wort, and further into products such as oil and salve, especially if it is taken into account its potentially greater bioavailability in acidic soils. The results showed that the concentration of lead in the salve is higher than in the oil, which indicates the possibility of a greater transfer of lead into these preparations, and potential risks for the health of people who use these products, in the event that St. John’s wort comes from a more polluted environment with a higher lead content. Lead, as a highly toxic heavy metal, represents a serious environmental and health problem, especially in industrial zones such as Lukavac, where soil, water and vegetation pollution is obvious. St. John’s wort is a widespread plant species, which is often used in Bosnian folk medicine, and St. John’s wort is often used in home-made herbal preparations, which are not controlled for the content of heavy metals. These results emphasize the need for careful monitoring and quality control of medicinal plants used for the preparation of pharmaceutical preparations, in order to reduce as much as possible the potential risks of the presence of toxic metals in human nutrition and health. Of particular importance is the possible infiltration of rainwater through permeable soil with the presence of lead, which further contaminates groundwater, the level of which is high on days of higher precipitation. It is important to emphasize that at a distance of about 400 m as the crow flies, there are 17 artesian wells that supply most of the population of the city of Lukavac with water, and in this way the groundwater is additionally polluted. There are no conflicting interests in this paper. There was no funding for this paper.

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