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Identification of allelochemicals from pomegranate peel and their effects on Microcystis aeruginosa growth

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Abstract

This paper studied the inhibitory effect of pomegranate peel (PP) extract on the growth of Microcystis aeruginosa, the model of harmful algal blooms in aquatic environment. The allelochemicals were identified by HPLC–MS/MS from PP and tested by batch experiment through measurement of algal density, chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentration, maximum quantum yield of photosystem II (Fv/Fm), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. Results showed that both PP powder and PP extract had obvious inhibitory effect on M. aeruginosa growth. Quercetin and luteolin were identified as the allelochemicals to M. aeruginosa growth. However, the inhibitory capacity of luteolin was stronger than that of quercetin. The growth inhibition ratio of luteolin can reach up to 98.7 and 99.1% of the control on day 7 at the dosages of 7 and 10 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, the changes of Chl-a, Fv/Fm, SOD, and MDA in M. aeruginosa confirmed jointly that the allelochemicals cause inhibition of photosystem and oxidative damage to M. aeruginosa cells with the antioxidant defense system being activated, which leads to the aggravation of membrane lipid peroxidation. Thus, luteolin could be used as a promising algaecide for emergency handling of M. aeruginosa blooms. This study might provide a new direction in the management of eutrophication in the future.

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Acknowledgments

The authors acknowledge Associate Professor Li Tizheng for his selfless help in the statistical analysis of the data.

Funding

This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number 21677115) and the Shaanxi Provincial Natural Science Foundation Research Key Project (2016JZ019).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental and Municipal Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Linfeng Chen, Yi Wang, Lulu Shi & Wenhuai Wang

  2. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Environmental Engineering, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Linfeng Chen, Lulu Shi & Wenhuai Wang

  3. Key Laboratory of Northwest Water Resource, Environment and Ecology, MOE, Xi’an University of Architecture and Technology, Xi’an, 710055, China

    Linfeng Chen, Lulu Shi & Wenhuai Wang

  4. College of Chemistry & Materials Science, Northwest University, Xi’an, 710069, China

    Jingchan Zhao

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  1. Linfeng Chen
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  2. Yi Wang
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  3. Lulu Shi
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Correspondence to Yi Wang.

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Chen, L., Wang, Y., Shi, L. et al. Identification of allelochemicals from pomegranate peel and their effects on Microcystis aeruginosa growth. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 22389–22399 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05507-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05507-1

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