Acute toxicity of textile dye Methylene blue on growth and metabolism of selected freshwater microalgae
Graphical abstract
Introduction
Dyeing was the process of colouring fibre materials so that the dye becomes an integral part of the fibre. Dyes are soluble compounds in water that can be absorbed by the fibre and retain it by chemically combining with it. It was approximated that more than 10,000 types of dyes are produced by dye industries with a production over than 7 × 105 tons annually (Ogugbue and Sawidis, 2011). Globally, China was the largest exporter of all types of textiles, followed by the European Union, India and USA (Ghaly et al., 2014). In India, out of the total production of 1,30,000 tons of dyestuff, the textiles industry consumes around 80% of the production and export the final goods to global markets (Naik et al., 2013). Production of dye stuff and pigments in India was close to 80,000 tonnes (Cervantes et al., 2001).
Textile industry plays a major role in Indian economical growth. In the year 2010, the textile export contributed 11.04 % to the total export, hence it partially fulfils the Indian economical thrust. The effluent produced during this process contains large amount of dyes (Ghaly et al., 2014). The waste water containing dyes released in to the aquatic environment creates many negative impacts. The effluents discharged from textile factories are mixtures of dyes, metals and other pollutants hence they are high in colour, pH, suspended solids (SS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) (Yaseen and Scholz, 2016), metals (Sharma et al., 2007; Sekomo et al., 2012; Dos Santos et al., 2007; Shah et al., 2013) and salts. Effluent from the textile and dyeing industries release highly coloured dyes which are most obvious indicator of water pollution. The discharge of these highly coloured effluents can damage the aquatic environment (Forss and Welander, 2009). Dye molecules may block the penetration of sunlight from water surface thereby reducing the photosynthesis. Hence, production and survival of phytoplankton which forms the base of the food chain was negatively affected leading to collapse of the entire ecosystem. Dyes, coupled with synthetic intermediates and the products of their degradation, have been reported to be capable of generating aromatic compounds which are highly toxic with mutagenic and carcinogenic properties (Ito et al., 2016). The exposure of Scenedesmus quadricauda to the graded concentrations of Indigo dye, resulted in a significant reduction in the growth and biomass production. The microscopic examination of the exposed cells/filaments revealed, noticeable changes in the morphological characteristics of the microalgae (Chia and Musa, 2014). Dyes are toxic to aquatic animal health i.e., Catla catla when exposed to dyes cause micronuclei formation and histopathological changes (Jagruti, 2015). In Tilapia gills, it caused degeneration of secondary lamellae, lamellar fusion due to hyperplasia and hypertrophy of epithelial cells and in liver it leads to hyperemia, necrosis and in muscle hyperemia. Dye containing effluents increase the COD level of the receiving water which indicates a high degree of pollution.
Methylene blue was an important cationic dye and was used in many textile manufacturers and it releases aromatic amines (e.g., benzidine, methylene) and was a potential carcinogen (Boeningo, 1994). In literature, it was found that there are no reports regarding the toxicity of MB for microalgae and hence this study is the need of the hour.
Algae which forms the basis of the aquatic ecosystem are sensitive to environmental changes. Hence they are used as indicators in ecological risk assessments to assess the effect of contaminants in water (Stauber and Davies, 2000; Levy et al., 2007; Qian et al., 2008). They are sensitive to chemicals and has short life cycle (Real et al., 2003) and due to this attribute, they are used as ecological testing organism (Eguchi et al., 2004). Hence two commonly found microalgal species of naturals waters from two different family Chlorophyta and Cyanophyta were chosen to compare the toxic effects of the dye. In this study Chlorella sp. was chosen because of its abundance in aquatic ecosystem and high sensitivity to contaminants in environment (Ramadass et al., 2016). The reason behind choosing Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis was due to its high nutritional, ecological and economic properties (Tomaselli, 2004; Ali and Saleh, 2012). The aim of this study was to analyze the toxicity of the Methylene blue in microalgae. This study gives a better insight into the toxicity of the textile dye on aquatic organism and also furnishes baseline data for delineation of guidelines for effluent discharge from textile industries.
Section snippets
Chemicals
The synthetic textile dye methylene blue was bought from SD Fine chemicals limited, India. Its molecular formula was C16H18CIN3S.XH2O and molecular weight was 319.9 g/mol.
Algal species and culture conditions
Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis were obtained from the Algal Biotechnology lab, AEM, ICAR-CIFE, Mumbai. The pure culture of C. vulgaris was subcultured in sterile BG-11 media and Spirulina platensis in sterile mNRC (modified Nallayam Research Centre) medium, under photoautotrophic conditions. The indoor batch
Influence of Methylene blue on growth rates of both algae
As shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 2, Methylene blue suppressed the growth of Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis in a concentration-dependent manner during 96 h exposure reaction period. Compared with control groups, Methylene blue at all studied concentrations can significantly inhibit the growth of Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis (p < 0.05 at 24−96 h).
After 24 h exposure of C. vulgaris to MB, higher growth inhibition of 65.66 % was found at the highest exposed dye concentration
Discussion
The microalgae, which are the primary producers and occupy the base of the aquatic food chain, play a key role in the structure and function of an ecosystem. Among the aquatic organisms, the sensitivity of microalgae and cyanobacteria towards pollutant is reported to be higher. Hence, they serve as important indicators used to assess the toxicity of chemicals released to the aquatic environment (Burkiewicz, 1987). In the present study, the toxicity of MB to a green algae C. vulgaris was
Conclusions
- (1)
A dose-dependent growth inhibition by Methylene blue was observed in Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis. The EC50 values indicate that short-term toxicity of Methylene blue creates metabolic upheaval in both of microalgae.
- (2)
In the acute experiment, chlorophyll-a, chlorophyll-b, carotenoid and protein content of Chlorella vulgaris and Spirulina platensis were notably accelerated in condition of medium containing different concentrations of Methylene blue. It is evident from the findings
CRediT authorship contribution statement
Abarna Krishna Moorthy: Investigation, Writing - original draft. Bhuvaneswari Govindarajan Rathi: Conceptualization, Supervision, Project administration, Writing - review & editing. Satya Prakash Shukla: Project administration, Writing - review & editing. Kundan Kumar: Methodology. Vidya Shree Bharti: Methodology.
Declaration of Competing Interest
The authors report no declarations of interest.
Acknowledgments
The authors thank Indian Council of Agricultural Research and ICAR-Central Institute of Fisheries Education for the financial assistance and facilities provided for this work.
References (46)
- et al.
Molecular and biochemical characterization of herbicide-resistant mutants of cyanobacteria reveals that phytoene desaturationwas a rate-limiting step in carotenoid biosynthesis
J. Biol. Chem.
(1993) - et al.
Review paper on current technologies for decolourisation of textile wastewaters: perspectives for anaerobic biotechnology
Bioresour. Technol.
(2007) - et al.
Evaluation of antimicrobial agents for veterinary use in the ecotoxicity test using microalgae
Chemosphere
(2004) - et al.
Decolourization of reactive azo dyes with microorganisms growing on soft wood chips
Int. Biodeterior. Biodegrad.
(2009) - et al.
Physiological and biochemical responses of Chlorella vulgaris to Congo Red
Ecotoxicol. Environ. Saf.
(2014) - et al.
Assessment of the effect of azo dye RP2B on the growth of a nitrogen fixing cyanobacterium–Anabaena sp
Bioresour. Technol.
(2001) - et al.
Effects of compound bioflocculant on coagulation performance and flocproperties for dye removal
Bioresour. Technol.
(2014) - et al.
Long–term natural remediation process in textile dye–polluted river sediment driven by bacterial community changes
Water Res.
(2016) - et al.
Sensitivity of marine microalgae to copper: the effect of biotic factors on copper adsorption and toxicity
Sci. Total Environ.
(2007) - et al.
Protein measurement with the Folin phenol reagent
J. Boil. Chem.
(1951)
Nickel has biochemical, physiological, and structural effects on the Green microalga Ankistrodesmus falcatus: an integrative study
Aquat. Toxicol.
Effects of glufosinate on antioxidant enzymes, subcellular structure, and gene expression in the unicellular green alga Chlorella vulgaris
Aquat. Toxicol.
The effect of copper exposure on a simple aquatic food chain
Aquat. Toxicol.
Heavy metal removal in duckweed and algae ponds as a polishing step for textile wastewater treatment
Ecol. Eng.
A comparative study on characterization of textile wastewaters (untreated and treated) toxicity by chemical and biological tests
Chemosphere
Biodegradation of carbamazepine using freshwater microalgae Chlamydomonas mexicana and Scenedesmus obliquus and the determination of its metabolic fate
Bioresour. Technol.
Shallow pond systems planted with Lemna minor treating azo dyes
Ecol. Eng.
Experimental study of dye removal from industrial wastewater by membrane technologies of reverse osmosis and nanofiltration
Iran. J. Environ. Health Sci. Eng.
Spirulina—an overview
Int. J. Pharm. Pharm. Sci.
Carcinogenicity and Metabolism of Azodyes Especially Derived from Benvidine
The influence of gibberellins and cytokinins on the growth of some unicellular Baltic algae
Bot. Mar.
Enhanced decolourisation of acid orange 7 in a continuous UASB reactor with quinones as redox mediators
Water Sci. Technol.
Effect of indigo dye effluent on the growth, biomass production and phenotypic plasticity of Scenedesmus quadricauda (Chlorococcales)
An. Acad. Bras. Ciênc.
Cited by (111)
Contamination of textile dyes in aquatic environment: Adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystem and human health, and its management using bioremediation
2024, Journal of Environmental ManagementBiochar obtained from alkaline earth metal-treated mushroom residue: Thermal behavior and methyl orange adsorption capability
2024, Journal of Environmental ManagementSpinnable hydrogel marbles: A dynamic miniature molecule concentrator for efficient water decontamination and colorimetric detection
2024, Chemical Engineering JournalSurface functionalized multi-wall carbon nanotubes for degradation of organic dyes
2024, Materials Chemistry and Physics