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Toxicity assessment of natural and chemical coagulants using brine shrimp (<i>Artemia salina</i>) bioassay
Abstract
The brine shrimp lethality assay is considered a useful tool for preliminary assessment of toxicity. Food items and materials are essentially important to be screened (regularly) for toxicity. Coagulants used in preparing soft cheese or ‘Wara’ or ‘Tofu’, and in portable water treatment needed to be assessed preliminarily for toxicity and a simple bench top bioassay, brine shrimp lethality assay, is suitable for such preliminary investigation. Thirteen extracts obtained from seven coagulants, comprising five plants (natural) and two chemical coagulants used in this study showed different toxicity to brine shrimps. Aqueous extract of Terminalia cattapa displayed the highest toxicity (0.1 μg/ml), while the aqueous extract of Carica papaya was the least toxic of the plant extracts. MgCl2 was the least toxic of the two chemical coagulants. At high concentrations all the coagulants were toxic to brine shrimps but toxicity reduced as concentration decreased.
Keywords: Calotropis procera, Carica papaya, Terminalia cattapa, Citrus lemon, coagulants, Artemia salina, lethality.
