Influence of humic substances on the toxic effects of cadmium and SDBS to the green alga Scenedesmus obliquus

Publication date: Available online 11 March 2019Source: Environmental Toxicology and PharmacologyAuthor(s): Ying Zhang, Ruixin Yang, Siyang Wang, Xiaohui Si, Xingwei Duan, Jiti ZhouAbstractThe joint toxicity of chemicals mixture in the aquatic environment was still not well clear. To clarify the joint toxicity of the mixtures of metals and organic pollutants, as well as the influence of dissolved organic matter (DOM) in field water-body on their toxic effects, we conducted the toxicity tests with cadmium (Cd) and sodium dodecyl benzene sulfonate (SDBS) on Scenedesmus obliquus (S. obliquus) with or without the presence of fulvic acid (FA), a typical of DOM. Our results showed Cd was more toxic to S. obliquus than SDBS, and the effects of fulvic acid on SDBS were greater than Cd. The joint toxicity of Cd and SDBS expressed a synergistic effect on S. obliquus, which was observed to be increased with the presence of FA. Our results gave an example for the joint toxicity investigations of organics and metals, aiding to understanding the toxicity of pollutant mixtures in field water bodies containing DOM.
Source: Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology - Category: Environmental Health Source Type: research