Journal of Environmental Research

Dibutyl phthalate on scenedesmus sp.: Risk assessment of natural occuring concentrations

Joint Event on 5^th International Conference on Pollution Control and Sustainable Environment & 10^th Edition of International Conference on Water: Pollution, Treatment & Research
March 14-16, 2019 London, UK

Cesar Cunha, Jorge Paulo, Marisa Faria, Manfred Kaufmann and Nereida Cordeiro

University of Madeira, Portugal
University of Porto, Portugal

Posters & Accepted Abstracts: J Environ Res

Abstract

Phthalate esters are highly present in marine plastic litter, which can interfere with the biological processes in the wildlife. In this work, the commonly found freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. was exposed to environmental relevant concentrations (0.02, 1 and 100 μg L-1) and to a higher concentration (500 μg L-1) of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which is an environmental contaminant. The Scenedesmus sp. growth inhibition and the effect on production of photosynthetic pigments and carbohydrates were evaluated as endpoint of the toxic effects. The main inhibition effect of DBP on the microalga growth was observed in thefirst 48 h of the exposition (EC50: 41.88 μg mL-1). A reduction in the photosynthetic pigments was observed for the 0.02, 1 and 100 μg L-1conditions indicated that DBP regulated the growth rate and affecting the photosynthetic process. A significant increase in protein production was observed only under 500 μg L-1 DBP exposure. Extracellular carbohydrates production decrease slightly with the presence of DBP, with a sharper decrease to 500 μg L-1. These results highlight the hazardous effects of DBP on the biochemical behaviour of microalgae and the importance of the real environmental concentrations study due to the DBP dose-dependent correlation effect.

Biography

César Cunha has completed his undergraduate degree in Biochemistry last summer in University of Madeira (UMa), Portugal. He started a professional internship in CIIMAR- Madeira, working as a Junior Researcher in LB3 (Laboratory of Bioanalysis, Biomaterials and Biotechnology) and in Madeira Algae Bank at University of Madeira.