Title

4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol Acute Toxicity to Daphnia and Its Effects on General Esterase and Glutathione S-Transferase Activity in Fathead Minnows

Authors

Rachel Clark, Southern Adventist UniversityFollow
Jared Lewis, Southern Adventist UniversityFollow
Jeehoon Jung, Southern Adventist University
Benjamin Thornton, Southern Adventist UniversityFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2017

Abstract

In 2014, 10,000 gallons of crude MCHM spilled into the Elk River in West Virginia. Due to a paucity of information about the toxicity of this chemical prior to the spill, our research aimed to verify the published 48-h EC₅₀ for Daphnia magna (Daphnia) examine the effects of MCHM on two enzyme detoxification systems, general esterase and glutathione S-transferase, in Pimephales promelas (Fathead Minnow). We used pure MCHM instead of the crude form used in Eastman’s toxicity tests because the composition of crude MCHM is variable. The EC₅₀ we obtained for pure MCHM did not differ significantly from the EC₅₀ provided by Eastman for the crude form. We exposed Fathead Minnows to sublethal environmentally-relevant concentrations of MCHM for 96 h prior to performing the enzyme assays. The experimental groups in these assays did not show significant difference from control groups. Although our results add to the toxicity information, there is still a concerning deficit in chronic toxicity testing because of possible prolonged human exposure following the spill.

Recommended Citation

Clark, Rachel; Lewis, Jared; Jung, Jeehoon; and Thornton, Benjamin, "4-Methylcyclohexanemethanol Acute Toxicity to Daphnia and Its Effects on General Esterase and Glutathione S-Transferase Activity in Fathead Minnows" (2017). Research in Biology. 4.
https://knowledge.e.southern.edu/research_bio/4