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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Citronellal and citronellol as growth inhibitors of freshwater cyanobacteria

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Cyanobacteria possess a very high tolerance relative to environmental factors, so they can be found in almost every aquatic habitat: oceans, freshwaters, hot springs, soils and bare rocks. Nowadays these microorganisms are thought to cause the formation of intensive blooms which result from water eutrophication. In order to suppress blooms in aquatic ecosystems, it is important to limit the growth of blue-green algae, preferably using environment-friendly procedures. In this article we present how two aliphatic, natural monoterpenes: citronellal and citronellol, influence the growth of cyanobacteria. Three species of freshwater cyanobacteria: Anabaena sp., Nodularia moravica and Chroococcus minutus were selected and cultured in the presence of various concentrations of the tested monoterpenes. The results proved that even small concentrations, below 1 mM of the tested compounds can inhibit the growth of these three species of cyanobacteria.