Ecotoxicological and biochemical effects of environmental concentrations of the plastic-bond pollutant dibutyl phthalate on Scenedesmus sp.

Phthalate esters are highly present in aquatic plastic litter, which can interfere with the biological processes in the wildlife. In this work, the commonly found freshwater microalga Scenedesmus sp. was exposed to environmental concentrations (0.02, 1 and 100 μg L) and to a higher concentration (500 μg L) of dibutyl phthalate (DBP), which is an environmental pollutant. The growth, pH variation, production of photosynthetic pigments, proteins and carbohydrates were evaluated. The main inhibition effect of DBP on the microalgal growth was observed in the first 48 h of the exposure (EC: 41.88 μg L). A reduction in the photosynthetic pigment concentration was observed for the 0.02, 1 and 100 μg L conditions indicating that the DBP downregulated the growth rate and affected the photosynthetic process. A significant increase in protein production was only observed under 500 μg L DBP exposure. The extracellular carbohydrates production slightly decreased with the presence of DBP, with a stronger decrease occurring in the 500 μg L condition. These results highlight the environmental risk evaluation and ecotoxicological effects of DBP on the production of biovaluable compounds by microalgae. The results also emphasize the importance of assessing the consequences of the environmental concentrations exposure as a result of the DBP dose-dependent correlation effects.