Abstract
Malachite green (MG) is a triphenylmethane dye that is widely used in aquaculture as a fungicide, bactericide, ectoparasiticide, and antiprotozoal. There is great debate regarding the potential for this compound to trigger adverse effects. Here, we review the previous findings and then evaluate the lethal and sublethal effects of MG in the species Hemichromis bimaculatus (jewelfish). The lethal concentration for 50% of the fish in 96 h was 1 mg/L. We observed a dose-dependent increase in the percentage of fish mortality as well as physical and behavioral changes. We further found that the highest tested sublethal dose significantly increased the DNA damage index identified using the comet assay (74.97 ± 13.8 at a significant level of P < 0.05 for the 0.75 mg/L concentration), but did not significantly alter the results of the micronucleus test. Although our results suggest that MG confers risks on exposed fish, the findings were significant only at the highest exposure concentration (0.75 mg/L). At lower concentrations (0.25 mg/L and 0.5 mg/L), no adverse effect was observed. The maximum MG concentration recommended for use in ornamental fish farming is 0.2 mg/L. Therefore, our results suggest that, specifically for the parameters analyzed in this work, MG does not have any adverse effect when users strictly adhere to the recommended concentration criteria for ornamental fish.
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Funding
This study was funded by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES; Edital Pro-Amazônia Biodiversidade e Sustentabilidade 047/2012) and Banco Nacional de Desenvolvimento Econômico e Social–BNDES (Operation 2.318.697.0001) in projects coordinated by Julio Cesar Pieczarka. This study is part of the doctorship thesis of Augusto Cesar Paes de Souza in PhD in Biodiversity and Biotechnology–PPG-BIONORTE.
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Souza, A.C.P., Melo, K.M., de Azevedo, L.F.C. et al. Lethal and sublethal exposure of Hemichromis bimaculatus (Gill, 1862) to malachite green and possible implications for ornamental fish. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 33215–33225 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09615-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-020-09615-1