Phototransformation kinetics of cyanobacterial toxins and secondary metabolites in surface waters

Cyanobacterial Secondary Metabolites

Cyanobacteria inhabit a range of diverse and extreme habitats and have potential to produce an elaborate array of secondary metabolites with unusual structures and potent bioactivity. This review summarizes several classes of cyanobacterial secondary metabolites some of which pose a threat to human or animal health in aquatic ecosystems because of their acute toxicity. This class includes hepat...

Occurrence of Cyanobacterial Toxins (Microcystins) in Surface Waters of Rural Bangladesh - Pilot Study

Microcystins (cyanobacterial toxins) in surface waters of rural Bangladesh: pilot study.

In Bangladesh the exposure of millions of inhabitants to water from (shallow) tube wells contaminated with high geogenic loads of arsenic is a major concern. As an alternative to the costly drilling of deep wells, the return to the use of surface water as a source of drinking water is considered. In addition to the well-known hazards of water borne infectious diseases associated with the use of...

Biodegradation of Cyanobacterial Toxins

Water is an essential natural resource, necessary for drinking, agriculture and industrial activities, and providing the human population with safe drinking water is one of the most important issues in public health. Cyanobacteria produce toxins that may present a hazard for drinking water safety. These toxins are structurally diverse and their effects range from liver damage, including liver c...

Cyanobacterial Toxins Impact Crops

Oregon surface waters are experiencing increased occurrence of potentially toxic cyanobacterial blooms (Fig. 1). It is necessary to use the modifier “potentially” because there is no toxin monitoring in the state of Oregon. Advisories are currently based on cell counts of potentially harmful cyanobacteria. This summary is intended to briefly review the recent research on the effects of a cyanob...