Mutagenic Action of Sugarcane Vinasse in the Tradescantia Pallida Test System

Abstract

The soil is a very complex and dynamic system and its contamination has become one of the main environmental concerns. Sugar-ethanol mills, for example, have a high hazard potential, mainly soil contamination, due to the production of different residues. The use of vinasse, a by-product of ethanol production, as fertilizer is a technically and economically feasible alternative. However, excessive quantities have been used, causing adverse changes in the soil. The present study was aimed at evaluating the toxic potential of vinasse in the Tradescantia pallida test system using the micronucleus test (Trad-MCN). Ten plants were exposed to ultrapure water as the negative control (NC), in MMS as the positive control (PC), raw vinasse (RV), and vinasse diluted to 50% (C1), vinasse diluted to 25% (C2), vinasse diluted to 12.5% (C3). The medium buds of each plant were used to assess the mutagenic effects based on the presence of micronuclei in tetrads. The results revealed that RV and C1 had a mutagenic potential compared to that of NC. The alterations observed suggest damage to the DNA of the test organism, which may not be reintegrated to the cell nucleus. The findings suggest caution in the application of this product to the soil despite this being an economically viable practice.

Volatile Compounds Obtained by the Hydrodistillation of Sugarcane Vinasse, a Residue from Ethanol Production

“…3 Furthermore, studies have shown that the dilution of vinasse in water (50% v/v) has mutagenic effects on Tradescantia pallida. 4 Therefore, it has been recommended that use of vinasse be carried out with caution, despite being economically viable. 4 When the vinasse is not used in fertigation, some alcohol production industries have instead deposited it in regions k ow as sacrifice areas .…”

“…4 Therefore, it has been recommended that use of vinasse be carried out with caution, despite being economically viable. 4 When the vinasse is not used in fertigation, some alcohol production industries have instead deposited it in regions k ow as sacrifice areas . These areas pose a great risk to groundwater and rivers by potential leaching.…”

“…5 The vinasse from sugarcane is rich in organic matter and mineral components, 1 and its composition may vary depending on several factors, including the raw material used to produce ethanol, the distillation process employed, 4 collection method, and the technology used for the production of ethanol and determination of soil quality. 6 In addition to several studies that have evaluated the use of vinasse as a fertiliser, several other studies have evaluated its: potential use for bioremediation of soil contaminated with diesel oil, 7 mutagenic activity, 4 use in combustion processes, 8 treatments to reduce the pollution potential (e.g., biodigestion) 5,9 and the volume generated in the ethanol production process, 5 chemical composition, 10,11 use in animal feed, 11,12 biogas production, 13 biohydrogen production, 14 allelopathic activity for weed control, 15 and the evaporation and concentration of vinasse for use as fuel. 6 As vinasse is a waste product generated in high quantities by the alcohol industry (10-18 L vinasse per litre of alcohol produced), 3 it is a threat environment.…”

Sugarcane Vinasse, a Residue of Ethanol Industry: Toxic, Cytotoxic and Genotoxic Potential Using the <i>Allium cepa</i> Test

“…Genotoxicity studies are very important and have been several reports of damage to the genetic material from different organisms exposed to vinasse for example in Drosophila melanogaster [36], Tradescantia pallida [37] and Saccharum species hybrids [38]. According to the latter authors, these alterations were caused by the high concentrations of K, P, S, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu and heavy metals such as Cd, Cr, Ni and Pb.…”

Genotoxicity evaluation of two metallic-insecticides using Allium cepa and Tradescantia pallida: A new alternative against leaf-cutting ants

“…These bioassays are validated and their protocols are standardized through a program under International Program on Plant Bioassays (IPPB) conducted by the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) (Ma, 1999). In both tests is possible to evaluate induction of micronuclei to verify genotoxic and chromosomal instability events and, using A. cepa, is also possible to evaluate chromosomal aberrations and mitotic index for detection of genotoxicity and cytotoxicity, respectively (Kirsche-Volders et al, 2011;Pedro-Escher et al, 2014). Recently, these organisms have been commonly used worldwide to detect alterations in the genetic material caused by agrochemicals (Rodríguez et al, 2015;Liman et al, 2015;Bianchi et al, 2016;Kuchy et al, 2016), dyes (Ventura-Camargo et al, 2016), sewage sludge (Martins et al, 2016), river water samples (Batista et al, 2016) and drugs Lutterbeck et al, 2015).…”