Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in estuarine sediments as a consequence of the mine tailings remobilization and transport in the Rio Doce basin.

The Fundão dam failure in 2015 severely impaired the economy, the lives of riverine communities, and the aquatic ecosystems of the Rio Doce basin in southeast Brazil. Several contaminants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were transported downstream, deposited in the estuary, and released into the Atlantic Ocean. The high concentration of PAHs in estuarine sediments may pose ecological risks and deleterious effects to benthic organisms, so here we aimed at determining the source and fate of these compounds before and after the tailings' arrival. The mean concentration of the analyzed Σ16PAHs increased from 34.05 µg kg-1 in the prefailure period to 751.77 µg kg-1 one year after the arrival of the tailing. The classification of the sediment quality changed from low to moderate contamination. Our results suggest that there was PAHs remobilization by mine tailings along the Rio Doce basin. The target analytes exhibited mostly a pyrolytic profile from fossil fuel and biomass burning. In addition to other contaminants deposited in the estuary after the arrival of the tailings, this study revealed that the profile change of PAHs in the estuary region is a consequence of the mud's erosive power. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:169-178. © 2023 SETAC.

Rare earth elements as tracers of iron ore tailings on the Brazilian eastern continental shelf.

Iron ore tailings are stored in large dams and pose risks to the environment around the world. In Brazil, the rupture of these dams has become frequent and has generated environmental and social concern. Rare earth elements are good tracers of sediment sources and our results indicated chronic contamination of the seabed sediment from the marine region affected by the Fundão Dam tailings since 2015, including areas of environmental protection. This research, carried out between November 2018 and September 2021, with a database of 575 samples, showed a greater amount of contaminated material in the marine region adjacent to the Doce River mouth. Although data suggest prior mining contamination of the Doce River basin, the Fundão episode was an empirical and massive example of the environmental damage caused by these human activities over the centuries, showing that the impact remains in the shallow marine environments for years. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:179-188. © 2023 SETAC.

Os rejeitos de minério de ferro são armazenados em grandes barragens que trazem riscos ao meio ambiente em todo o mundo. No Brasil, o rompimento dessas barragens tem se tornado frequente e gerado preocupação ambiental e social. Elementos terras raras são bons marcadores de fontes sedimentares e nossos resultados indicaram uma contaminação crônica da região marinha afetada pelos rejeitos da barragem de Fundão, incluindo áreas de proteção ambiental. Esta pesquisa teve com 575 amostras analisadas entre os meses de novembro de 2018 e outubro de 2021, com a região marinha adjacente a foz do Rio Doce apresentando o maior grau de impacto. Embora os dados ressaltem a contaminação histórica da mineração na bacia do Rio Doce, o episódio do Fundão foi um exemplo empírico e massivo dos danos ambientais causados por essas atividades ao longo dos séculos, mostrando que o impacto permanece nos ambientes marinhos rasos por anos. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2024;20:179-188.

Indigofera suffruticosa Mill. (Anil): Plant Profile, Phytochemistry, and Pharmacology Review.

Indigoferasuffruticosa Mill. (Fabaceae) is known as anil or anileira and also with other names, due to the production of a blue pigment, which is commonly used for yarn dyeing. It is distributed in some states of Brazil (Pernambuco, Paraíba, Mato Grosso, São Paulo, Bahia, Pará, and others) and is used in the popular medicine as a febrifuge, antispasmodic, diuretic, abortive, analgesic, purgative, or soothing agent against stomach and urinary problems, jaundice, and ulcers and also as an insecticide. In addition, I. suffruticosa can be used as animal feed. This review aimed at providing important data on the botanical, distribution, ethnopharmacology, phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicity of I. suffruticosa based on the scientific literature. Information on I. suffruticosa was gathered via the Internet (from Elsevier, NCBI, and Sci-Hub) and libraries in the period from February to March 2016. More than 40 chemical compounds have been identified and a few compounds isolated, and the main origins are the essential oils, organic extracts, and aqueous extracts of different parts of the plant. I. suffruticosa and its active compounds possess wide pharmacological actions in the literature, such as anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antifungal, antioxidative, antitumor, antimutagenic, anticonvulsant, gastroprotective, and hepatoprotective activities. Therefore, as an important traditional popular medicine, further studies on I. suffruticosa are required for the development of new drugs and therapeutics for various diseases.

Effects of anti-inflammatory drugs in primary kidney cell culture of a freshwater fish.

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are emerging contaminants in aquatic ecosystems. This study aimed to evaluate toxic effects of some representative drugs of this pharmaceutical group on primary culture of monocytic lineage of Hoplias malabaricus anterior kidney. The effects of diclofenac, acetaminophen and ibuprofen in cell viability, lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced NO production and genotoxicity were evaluated. Cytometry analysis CD11b(+) cells showed 71.5% of stem cells, 19.5% of macrophages and 9% of monocytes. Cell viability was lower in the ficoll compared to percoll separation. LPS-induced NO production by these cells was blocked after treatment with dexamethasone and NG-Methyl-L-Arginine (L-NMMA). Exposure of the cells to diclofenac (0.2-200 ng/mL), acetaminophen (0.025-250 ng/mL) ibuprofen (10-1000 ng/mL) reduced basal NO production and inhibited LPS-induced NO production at all concentrations after 24 h of exposure. Genotoxicity occurred at the highest concentration of diclofenac and at the intermediary concentration of acetaminophen. Genotoxicity was also observed by ibuprofen. In summary, the pharmaceuticals influenced NO production and caused DNA damage in monocytic cells suggesting that these drugs can induce immunosuppression and genotoxicity in fish.

Hematologic and hepatic responses of the freshwater fish Hoplias malabaricus after saxitoxin exposure.

The bioaccumulation of saxitoxins (STX) in the trophic chain, mainly in freshwater, are not completely known. This work aimed to elucidate the effects of STX on Hoplias malabaricus through trophic bioassay. The fish were fed once every five days with Astyanax sp. before being subjected to an intraperitoneal inoculation with the lysate of Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii culture containing 97% STX and 3% by neosaxitoxin and gonyautoxin during 20 days. The animal's liver was assessed using biomarkers as activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), and glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and concentrations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and lipoperoxidation (LPO) and protein carbonylation (PCO). In the blood was analyzed the genotoxic and hematological parameters. The hepatosomatic index and the relative condition factor did not show a significant difference between the exposed and control groups. The values of mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration and mean corpuscular hemoglobin increased in the STX group. The hepatic tissue from both groups exhibited a typical pattern that have been already described for most teleost fish. The results suggested the generation of reactive oxygen species, with increased activity of GPx and concentrations of LPO and GSH; whereas the specific activity of SOD decreased. However, no changes were observed in the CAT, PCO, and DNA damage. Although the STX effects are known as neurotoxic, this cyanotoxin caused liver biochemical alterations that can be considered ecologically relevant.

First report about saxitoxins in freshwater fish Hoplias malabaricus through trophic exposure.

Cyanobacterial waterblooms, such as the saxitoxin (STX) producer Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, have been a worldwide concern in environmental health. However, the bioaccumulation of this neurotoxin in the trophic chain is not completely known. The aim of the present work was to evaluate STX bioaccumulation through chemical analyses and the toxic and trophic effects using biomarkers in the tropical freshwater fish Hoplias malabaricus. They were fed once every five days with Astyanax sp. before being subjected to intraperitoneal inoculation with STX extract (0.08 µg/100 g) obtained by lysis of toxic C. raciborskii strain (T3). After 20 days the brain was collected for acetylcholinesterase (AChE), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione (GSH), lipoperoxidation (LPO), protein carbonylation (PCO), and comet assay analysis. The muscle was collected for STX chemical analysis. The activities of SOD and concentrations of PCO and LPO increased. The CAT, GST, and GPx activities decreased. Genotoxicity was observed in the experimental group. STX was not detected in muscle samples. Thus, an oxidative stress was observed in the brain, leading to the damage of lipids, proteins, and DNA. The mechanism of action of the neurotoxin in this subchronic exposure suggests an apoptotic cellular process.

Partitioning of caseinomacropeptide in aqueous two-phase systems.

This study evaluates the influence of type of salt and temperature on the partition coefficient of caseinomacropetide (CMP) to determine the best conditions for the recovery of CMP in aqueous two-phase systems (ATPS) composed by poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) 1500 and an inorganic salt (potassium phosphate, sodium citrate, lithium sulfate or sodium sulfate). In all systems, CMP presented affinity for the PEG-rich phase. The PEG1500+lithium sulfate showed the highest values of partitioning coefficient. In addition, thermodynamic parameters (DeltaH degrees , DeltaS degrees , DeltaG degrees) as a function of temperature, were calculated for the system PEG1500-sodium citrate at different PEG concentrations and the results imply thermodynamic differences between partitioning of CMP in this system.

Hydrophobic interaction adsorption of hen egg white proteins albumin, conalbumin, and lysozyme.

Hydrophobic adsorption equilibrium data of the hen egg white proteins albumin, conalbumin, and lysozyme were obtained in batch systems, at 25 degrees C, using the Streamline Phenyl resin as adsorbent. The influence of three types of salt, NaCl, Na(2)SO(4), or (NH(4))(2)SO(4), and their concentration on the equilibrium data were evaluated. The salt Na(2)SO(4) showed the higher interaction with the studied proteins, thus favoring the adsorption of proteins by the adsorbent, even though each type of salt interacted in a distinct manner with each protein. The isotherm models of Langmuir, Langmuir exponential, and Chen and Sun were well fitted to the equilibrium data, with no significant difference being observed at the 5% level of significance. The mass transfer model applied simulated correctly adsorption kinetics of the proteins under the studied conditions.