Evaluation of toxicity of vinasse treated using liver of fish Oreochromis niloticus as a model

• Grant number: 14/20923-9
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2014
• End date: November 30, 2015
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Histology
• Principal Investigator: Carmem Silvia Fontanetti Christofoletti
• Grantee: Luiza Figueiredo Sardinha
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

With the increase in population and, consequently, consumption and industrial activities, the integrity of aquatic ecosystems have been threatened, as they are the main recipients of toxic effluents. The vinasse, a byproduct of ethanol production from sugarcane (Saccharum sp.), is used mainly in Brazil, as fertilizer. This substance has significant polluting power due to its high concentration of organic matter, which can reach water by percolation and / or leaching. Fish are excellent as a models for experimental studies of aquatic toxicology because warn of the potential danger of chemicals or the possibility of environmental pollution. Several responses observed in these organisms are excellent biomarkers, for example, histopathology of liver, organ that has ability to accumulate chemicals by direct exposure to pollutants present in the water of rivers and seas or indirect exposure, via the food chain ecosystem. Given the above, this project aims to analyze the toxicity of different vinasse dilutions using histological and histochemical analysis of the liver of fish species Oreochromis niloticus as a model, exposed in laboratory tests.