This study was carried out to evaluate the toxicity of a strain of Microcystis spp, using acute toxicity bioassays with swiss albino mice and to characterize chemically the microcistins using high efficiency liquid chromatography with photodiode array detector (HPLC-PDA) and mass spectrometry with electrospray ionization (MS-ESI). The acute toxicity tests with mice showed that according to the classification proposed by Lawton et al (1994b), the toxic strain here tested corresponds to the degree of high toxicity with DL50 24h values for the dry extract lower than 100 mg/kg corporal weight (13,7 mg/kg corporal weight), while DL50(24h) for total microcystin - MCs concentration around 24,2 µg/kg corporal weight. and concentration of MCs in the dry material higher than 1,0 µg/mg dry weight (between 1.64 and 1.86 µg/mg d.w.).
Water analysis; microcystins; bioassay; mice DL50; high efficiency liquid chromatography; mass spectrometry; cyanobacteria; toxicity; PROSAB
