Toxicological Evaluation of the Hexadecanoic Acid and β Sitosterol for Daphnia similis Claus, 1876 (Cladoceran, Crustacean)
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5132/jbse.2006.02.015Keywords:
toxicity test, Daphnia similis, extractive, hexadecanoic acid, β sitosterolAbstract
The wood used as raw material by cellulose and paper factories has high levels of extractives with high toxic potential, such as fatty acids and the phytosterol β sitosterol, which promote toxic effects (masculinization of females, among others) in aquariums such as fish and invertebrates. Due to the growing concern about the environment in Brazil, factories such as Aracruz Celulose S.A. routinely carry out ecotoxicological tests to evaluate the effects of their effluents on the environment and anticipate possible environmental problems. The present study was carried out in two stages with the objective of relating the toxicity of the mixed effluent from Aracruz Celulose with some of the reference extractives. The first stage consisted of identifying and quantifying fatty acids and β-sitosterol present in sectoral effluents through chromatographic analysis. In the second stage, ecotoxicological analyzes were carried out with two of the most abundant extractives and with the mixed (untreated) effluent, to assess whether the acute toxicity of this effluent for the organism Daphnia similis is related to the current concentrations of the extractives tested. The quantification of extractives present in Aracruz Celulose's sectoral effluents showed that effluents from purification, acid bleaching and evaporation developed with the highest concentrations of these compounds, while effluents from the wood yard and alkaline bleaching developed with the lowest values. Linoleic, hexadecanoic, hexacosanoic, octadecenoic and docosanoic fatty acids were the most abundant, and β sitosterol was identified in all effluents analyzed, being in higher concentration in the purification effluent. The chosen extractives did not present acute toxicity to test organisms, even at concentrations ten times greater than those present in Aracruz Celulose's sectoral effluents, however, the results of the three mixed effluent toxicity tests for D. similis showed acute toxicity, with EC50 equal to 16.66%, 23.62% and 52.02%.
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