Toxicity of Carmine Cochineal and Caramel IV Dyes to Terrestrial Plants and Micro-crustaceans

e Silva, Ana Paula Soares; de Sousa Silva, Tamires; dos Santos, Amanda de Almeida; Ribeiro, Karoline Griebler; Marques, Márcia Maria Mendes; de Almeida, Pedro Marcos; Peron, Ana Paula

Toxicity of Carmine Cochineal and Caramel IV Dyes to Terrestrial Plants and Micro-crustaceans

2020

The disposal of carmine cochineal and caramel IV dyes into the environment through effluents generated in the industry is constant. However, studies on the toxicity caused to terrestrial plants and aquatic organisms are limited for the carmine dye and non-existent for the caramel dye. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of color additives in meristematic Allium cepa cells from 22.50 to 0.225 mL/L for the carmine cochineal dye and from 18.00 to 0.045 mL/L for the caramel IV dye. In A. cepa, we considered the concentration of each dye in the effluent after the usual biological degradation carried out in the industry. Data were tested by using analysis of variance (one-way ANOVA), and the mean values were compared by using the Scott-Knott test with a significance of 0.05. Cochineal dye at concentrations from 22.50 to 2.81 mL/L and caramel dye at concentrations from 18.00 to 1.125 mL/L were cytotoxic. Cochineal dye was not genotoxic. Caramel concentrations 2.25 and 0.09 mL/L were genotoxic. The toxicity of each dye was also evaluated against Artemia salina at concentrations from 1000 to 0.97 ppm, determining the LC₅₀. The analyzed concentrations were defined based on the standard protocol for checking the mortality rate in brine shrimp. Concentration that causes mortality of 50% larvae was calculated based on the equation of the line obtained by linear regression. The additives were very toxic to A. salina with LC₅₀ = 1.72 ppm for carmine additive and LC₅₀ = 3.88 ppm for caramel. The dyes evaluated in this study indicate the potential to cause damage to organisms in the environment.

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