DNA damage induced by hydroquinone can be prevented by fungal detoxification

Abstract

Hydroquinone is a benzene metabolite with a wide range of industrial applications, which has potential for widespread human exposure; however, the toxicity of hydroquinone on human cells remains unclear. The aims of this study are to investigate the cytotoxicity and genotoxicity of hydroquinone in human primary fibroblasts and human colon cancer cells (HCT116). Low doses of hydroquinone (227-454 μM) reduce the viability of fibroblasts and HCT116 cells, determined by resazurin conversion, and induce genotoxic damage (DNA strand breaks), as assessed by alkaline comet assays. Bioremediation may provide an excellent alternative to promote the degradation of hydroquinone, however few microorganisms are known that efficiently degrade it. Here we also investigate the capacity of a halotolerant fungus, Penicillium chrysogenum var. halophenolicum, to remove hydroquinone toxicity under hypersaline condition. The fungus is able to tolerate high concentrations of hydroquinone and can reverse these noxious effects via degradation of hydroquinone to completion, even when the initial concentration of this compound is as high as 7265 μM. Our findings reveal that P. chrysogenum var. halophenolicum efficiently degrade hydroquinone under hypersaline conditions, placing this fungus among the best candidates for the detoxification of habitats contaminated with this aromatic compound.

Characterization of pharmaceuticals industrial effluent using GC–MS and FT-IR analyses and defining its toxicity

“…Hydroquinone (used for skin bleaching) is an aromatic organic compound, a type of phenol, leading to serious toxic effects on fauna and flora. Pereira et al (2014) reported that the hydroquinone drug has genotoxic property. The cytotoxicity of hydroquinone is caused by following the primarily oxidative damage methods to DNA (Enguita and Leitão 2013).…”

Detection of volatile metabolites of moulds isolated from a contaminated library

“…The carbon dioxide evolved during aerobic respiration was quantitative adsorbed using droplets of NaOH (Carlo Erba Reagents, Milan, Italy) inside the sealed nozzle septum of the bottles. The pressure drop detected (every 100 min) in the bottle was proportional to the amount of oxygen used by fungi (Pereira et al, 2014;Schuchardt and Kruse, 2009;Willcock and Magan, 2001). …”

Preparation of Flower-like NiMnO3 as Oxidase Mimetics for Colorimetric Detection of Hydroquinone

“…Due to its high toxicity and low degradability, HQ enhances the risk of environmental pollution. Unfortunately, exposure to HQ may cause skin inflammation, headache, edema, collapse, nausea, and eventually death because of failure of the respiratory system in humans. − Therefore, developing a reliable analytical method is essential or necessary, which is facing all kinds of challenges. , …”