Penicillin, Streptomycin and Other Antimicrobial Substances of Cynobacterial Hepatotoxins by Plant Tests

The world-wide occurrence of harmful cyanobacterial blooms CyanoHAB in fresh and brackish waters create problems for all life forms. During CyanoHAB events, toxic cyanobacteria produce cyanotoxins at high level under stress conditions that can cause chronic and sub-chronic toxicities to animals, plants and humans. Cyanotoxicity in eukaryotes has been mainly focused on animals, but during recent years, data, related to cyanotoxin impact on both aquatic and terrestrial crop plants irrigated by water containing these toxins have become more and more available. This last cited fact is gaining importance since plants could in a direct or indirect manner contribute to cyanotoxin transfer through the food chain, and thus constitute a potent health risk source. The use of this contaminated irrigation water can also have an economical impact which appears by a reduction of the germination rate of seeds, and alteration of the quality and productivity of crop plants. The main objective of present investigations is to discuss the eventual phytotoxicity of cyanotoxin as the major agricultural impacts induced by the use of contaminated water for plant irrigation. Thus cyanobacterial phytotoxicity strongly suggests a need for the surveillance of CyanoHAB and the monitoring of water irrigation quality. Therefore it is advisable to farmers that they should not use such water bodies for irrigation without prior examination.