Removal of malachite green toxicity using water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) biomass

Abstract

Malachite green (MG), a common synthetic dye that is used extensively in many industries including aquaculture, is highly toxic to cells. One of its metabolites, leucomalachite green, poses more toxic effects to cells compared to MG itself. Adsorption of this synthetic dye seems to be a promising method in removing dye without the formation of other harmful products. This study evaluated the potency of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) biomass of both root and leaf part of the plant in removing MG dye toxicity. Biomass from both root and leaf part of the plant showed high decolorization efficiency in less than 1 hour of incubation. Results from thin layer chromatography (TLC) analysis showed no formation of other degradation metabolites, implying the decolorization process that occurred was solely adsorption. Toxicity test towards Saccharomyces cerevisiae showed that water hyacinth biomass could reduce MG toxicity. Therefore, the root and leaf biomass collected from E. crassipes does have the potential to detoxify aqueous solution contaminated by MG.