ACITE ALGICIDAL TOXICITY OF DIMETHYL SULFOXIDE TOWARDS CYCLOTELLA MENEGHINIANA

Authors

  • Donyo Ganchev Agricultural University, Plovdiv, Bulgaria

Keywords:

dimethyl sulfoxide, Cyclotella meneghiniana, algae, toxicity, ECOSAR, VEGA

Abstract

In vitro and in silico trials for acute algicidal toxicity of dimethyl sulfoxide were performed. The in silico tests were carried out with ECOSAR 2.2 and VEGA QSAR software. Both software products perform QSAR predictions as a general for algae i.e not for specific species and both software calculated LC 50 values (acute toxicity) of DMSO towards algae in the range of 4000 – 5000 ppm.ECOSAR point EC50 from acute toxicity test to be 4620 ppm or 0.46 % concentration while Vega QSAR (Toxicity model (IRFMN) 1.0.1) point EC50 value of 4.42 ppm. However, the predicted compound is outside the Applicability Domain of the model and the result may be not reliable. According to algae classification toxicity model (ProtoQSAR-Combase), DMSO is classify as a non-toxic but, again the predicted compound is outside the applicability domain of the model and the result may be not reliable. Towards the same algorithm EC50 is 635.22 ppm or 0.063 % concentration.The online version of EpiSuite - Episuite.dev or EPI Suite™ BETA version 1.0, created and maintained by US Environmental Agency (EPA), give EC50 for freshwater algae = 5660 ppm or 0.56 % concentration which is fairly close to the value of ECOSAR 2.2 which is logically due to the fact that ECOSAR 2.2 is also created and supported by EPA. However, conducted in vitro trials with dimethyl sulfoxide for Cyclotella meneghiniana show its extremely low toxicity (LC 50 near 260000 ppm) and up to the 5000 ppm the tested compound do not cause any acute toxicity to the tested aqua plants. NOAEl or LC50 was 85 700 ppm, LOAEL or LC25 was 170 800 ppm, LC50 was 257 400 ppm and LC90 was 585 000 ppm. These results confirm other similar investigations of toxicity of DMSO towards other algae species such as Raphidocelis subcapitata, Chlorella vulgaris and Selenastrum capricornutum which also show very low similar toxicity ofdimethyl sulfoxide.The conducted tests in the present research reveal that different algae species can respond differently towards the same chemical and the in silico tests which give general toxicity towards algae cannot be applied in all cases.QSAR analyses of DSMO with ECOSAR and VEGA QSAR show dramatic differences between real and in silico trials towards specific algae species which can be the base for future perfection of the QSAR algorithms towards toxicity of aqua organisms. The low algae toxicity of DMSO makes this chemical very suitable as emulsifying agent of different synthetic or natural compounds with a large application in the medicine, veterinary medicine, agriculture and pest management.

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Published

2026-03-25

How to Cite

Ganchev, D. (2026). ACITE ALGICIDAL TOXICITY OF DIMETHYL SULFOXIDE TOWARDS CYCLOTELLA MENEGHINIANA. KNOWLEDGE - International Journal , 75(3), 277–282. Retrieved from http://ojs.ikm.mk/index.php/kij/article/view/8193