Alleviating CTAC and Flu combined pollution damage in Chlorella vulgaris by exogenous nitric oxide

- The joint toxicity of CTAC/Flu to Chlorella vulgaris displayed synergism at a certain ratio.
- The damage of CTAC/Flu in C. vulgaris growth was changed by exogenously applied NO.
- Low exogenous NO alleviated the oxidative damage of CTAC/Flu in C. vulgaris.
- Low exogenous NO alleviates the joint toxicity of surfactants/PAHs to hydrobios.

This study investigates the effect of sodium nitroprussiate (SNP), an exogenous NO-donor, on the joint toxicity of binary mixtures of cetyltrimethylammonium chloride (CTAC) and fluoranthene (Flu) (CTAC/Flu), which are representatives for surfactants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) respectively, in a unicellular green alga Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris). The results showed that the addition of low SNP (20 μM) alleviated the CTAC/Flu combined pollution damage in C. vulgaris. Supplement of low SNP significantly increased the algae biomass, chlorophyll content, soluble protein content and the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) as compared to CTAC/Flu treatment alone. SNP also reduced the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) and the reactive oxygen species (ROS), as compared with CTAC/Flu treated alone. On the contrary, the above phenomena were reversed when high concentration of SNP (100 μM) was added. Our study indicated that the damage of the joint action of surfactants and PAHs on hydrobios can be alleviated through protecting against oxidant substances and increasing the activity of antioxidant enzymes with an exogenous supply of NO in certain concentration range.