Severe hepatotoxicity caused by the tropical cyanobacterium (blue-green alga) Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii (Woloszynska) Seenaya and Subba Raju isolated from a domestic water supply reservoir.
P R Hawkins
M T Runnegar
A R Jackson
I R Falconer
Abstract
Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, a tropical blooming species of cyanobacterium (blue-green alga), was isolated from the domestic water supply reservoir on Palm Island, a continental island off the tropical northeast coast of Australia. This species, not previously known to be toxic, was shown to be severely hepatotoxic for mice. The 50% lethal dose at 24 h after injection was found to be 64 +/- 5 mg of freeze-dried culture per kg of mouse. The principal lesion produced was centrilobular to massive hepatocyte necrosis, but various degrees of injury were also seen in the kidneys, adrenal glands, lungs, and intestine. The possible implication of this finding in relation to an incident of hepatoenteritis in humans living on the island is discussed.
Full text
PDF
Images in this article
Selected References
These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.
- Bourke A. T., Hawes R. B. Freshwater cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) and human health. Med J Aust. 1983 May 28;1(11):491–492. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1983.tb136178.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Byth S. Palm Island mystery disease. Med J Aust. 1980 Jul 12;2(1):40–42. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1980.tb131814.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Falconer I. R., Beresford A. M., Runnegar M. T. Evidence of liver damage by toxin from a bloom of the blue-green alga, Microcystis aeruginosa. Med J Aust. 1983 May 28;1(11):511–514. doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.1983.tb136192.x. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Jackson A. R., McInnes A., Falconer I. R., Runnegar M. T. Clinical and pathological changes in sheep experimentally poisoned by the blue-green alga Microcystis aeruginosa. Vet Pathol. 1984 Jan;21(1):102–113. doi: 10.1177/030098588402100117. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- Stanier R. Y., Kunisawa R., Mandel M., Cohen-Bazire G. Purification and properties of unicellular blue-green algae (order Chroococcales). Bacteriol Rev. 1971 Jun;35(2):171–205. doi: 10.1128/br.35.2.171-205.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]