ISSN 0096-3925, Moscow University Biological Sciences Bulletin, 2007, Vol. 62, No. 4, pp. 176–179.

© Allerton Press, Inc., 2007.

Original Russian Text © E.A. Solomonova, S.A. Ostroumov, 2007, published in Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Biologiya, 2007, No. 4, pp. 39–42.

Tolerance of an Aquatic Macrophyte Potamogeton crispus L.

to Sodium Dodecyl Sulphate
E. A. Solomonova and S. A. Ostroumov
Department of Hydrobiology; e-mail: saostro@online.ru
Received April 17, 2006

Abstract—The effects of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl suplphate on the aquatic macrophyte Potamogeton
crispus L. are studied. Concentrations of 83–133 mg/l caused fragmentation of the stems of plants. The tolerance of
the plants to the negative effects of the surfactant was higher in the spring (April) than in the autumn (September).
DOI: 10.3103/S0096392507040074

Macrophytes are important components of ecosys-
tems and participate in the purification of water and
support its quality (McCutcheon and Schnoor, 2003;
Wetzel, 2001). This is especially important in condi-
tions of pollution of water bodies and water courses.
Surfactants constitute a class of pollutants. The eco-
logical danger of surfactants is still insufficiently inves-
tigated and analyzed. On the one hand, there are numer-
ous publications on various bioeffects and disturbances
of the structure and function of organisms under the
action of synthetic surfactants (Davydov et al., 1997;
Ostroumov, 2001, 2005, 2006). On the other hand,
some authors do not qualify surfactants as major pollut-
ants (Moore and Ramamoorthy, 1984) and believe that,
ecologically, they are not highly dangerous for aquatic
ecosystems (Fendinger et al., 1994).
On the basis of studies of the effect of surfactants
and surfactant-containing mixtures and the elucidation
and comparison of the tolerance of organisms belong-
ing to different taxa, it was suggested to use angiosper-
mous plants for phytoremediation (Ostroumov, 2001).
In this aspect, further investigation and clarification of
the facts concerning the interaction of plants and vari-
ous xenobiotics are necessary.
The present paper presents the results of investiga-
tions of the effect of various concentrations of aqueous
solutions of the anionic surfactant sodium dodecyl sul-
phate (SDS) on the viability of the aquatic macrophyte
pondweed Potamogeton crispus L.
MATERIAL AND METHODS
In the experiments with the pondweed, two–four
stems with a combined biomass of 7.0–7.5 g were
placed in vessels with tap water (volume 1.2 l) prelimi-
narily allowed to settle for 48 hours. The prepared stock
solution of SDS in water (concentration of 2 mg/ml) was
added to the vessels at intervals of 48 h for 20 days. The
volume of the added solution in the case of a single
addition was 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.50, 1.00, 5.00, 10.00,
and 30.00 ml. The increment of the concentration of
SDS was 0.17, 0.33, 0.50, 0.83, 1.67, 8.30, 16.60, and
49.80 mg/l, respectively. Also, a series of experiments
was arranged with a single introduction of SDS. In this
case, the concentration of SDS in the vessels was 83.3,
100.0, and 133.3 mg/l, respectively. The experiments
were carried out with the water temperature in the ves-
sels being 19–23°C with normal room illumination in
April and September. The level of the effect of SDS on
the macrophytes was estimated using a 10-point scale.
In the elaboration of the scale, several visual character-
istics of the state of the plants were taken into consider-
ation, including the separation of the stem fragments
and the separation of the leaves and their pigmentation
(Table 1).
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
The experiments with pondweed collected in Sep-
tember demonstrated that, when the sum total of the
added SDS attained 6.68 mg/l (eight days into the
experiment), the turgor of the stems decreased (Table 2).
At the same stage of the experiment in the vessels with
the sum total of SDS from 33.20 to 199.20 mg/l, con-
siderable fragmentation was observed (Table 2): at
33 mg/l, the level of impact of the SDS was 9 points; at
199 mg/l, it was 10 points.
In April, a decrease of the turgor was recorded when
the sum total of the SDS attained 3.32 mg/l (8 days into
the experiment). However, in April, the process of frag-
mentation in the vessels with higher concentrations of
SDS developed less intensively than in the experiments
carried out in September. In April, in the vessels with
the sum total of the SDS equal to 33 mg/l, the level of
the impact of the SDS was only equal to one point
(Table 3).
Thus, in the autumn, the tolerance of the pondweed
to SDS (four additions of the aqueous solution of SDS
were added over eight days) was somewhat lower than
in the spring. The relatively high tolerance of the pond-

176
 TOLERANCE OF AN AQUATIC MACROPHYTE 177

Table 1. Scale of impact of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) on the structural integrity of macrophytes
Points Characteristics of fragmentation of stems
0 Absence of fragmentation and signs preceding it
1 Decrease of turgor of stems (reversible stage)
2 Fracture of stems in 1–2 areas of the total mass of the plants
3 Separation of 1–2 parts of the stems in the total mass of the plants
4 Most plants (but not all) are fragmented
5 All plants are fragmented, 50% of the fragments are 6 cm long and longer
6 All the plants are fragmented, over 50% of the fragments are relatively short (less than 6 cm). Three or
more relatively longer fragments are present, 6 cm long and longer
7 Most fragments are relatively small, shorter than 6 cm. One–two relatively long fragments are present
(6 cm and longer)
8 All the fragments are shorter than 6 cm
9 All the fragments are less than 4 cm in length and are on the bottom of the vessel, most of the fragments
retain leaf pigmentation
10 All the fragments are shorter than 4 cm and are on the bottom of the vessel, more than 50% of the leaves
are separated, the leaf blades are decaying, depigmentation is expressed
Note: For the determination of the level of fragmentation applying the present scale, the vessels were used with not less than three plants
having a stem length from 12 to 30 cm.

Table 2. Level of the effect of SDS on the structural integrity of the stems of P. crispus L. in 8 days** (September)
Increment of
No. of Biomass Quantity of SDS in Sum of the addition Fragmentation
the concentration
vessel (wet weight) (g) the addition (mg) of SDS (mg/l) level*
of SDS (mg/l)
1 7.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0
2 7.0 0.00 0.00 0.00 0
3 7.1 0.20 0.17 0.68 0
4 7.0 0.20 0.17 0.68 0
5 7.3 0.40 0.33 1.32 0
6 7.0 0.40 0.33 1.32 0
7 7.2 0.60 0.50 2.00 0
8 7.0 0.60 0.50 2.00 0
9 7.0 1.00 0.83 3.32 0
10 7.3 1.00 0.83 3.32 0
11 7.0 1.00 1.67 6.68 1
12 7.1 1.00 1.67 6.68 1
13 7.3 10.00 8.30 33.20 9
14 7.4 10.00 8.30 33.20 9
15 7.0 20.00 16.60 66.40 10
16 7.0 60.00 49.80 199.20 10
* The level of impact of the SDS on the macrophytes was estimated using a 10-point scale.
** Four additions were performed within eight days.

weed in the spring was also confirmed under the condi-
tions of a longer experiment when the series of addi-
tions continued for 20 days (Table 4).
At a simultaneous addition in September of compara-
tively high doses of SDS (83.3, 100.0, and 133.3 mg/l),
one day after the introduction of the SDS solution, the
level of the impact was one point. The stems were fully
fragmented 6 days into the experiment (Table 5).
In the literature, there are data on investigations of
other macrophytes in which the processes of decompo-

MOSCOW UNIVERSITY BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES BULLETIN Vol. 62 No. 4 2007

178 SOLOMONOVA, OSTROUMOV

Table 3. Level of the effect of SDS on the structural integrity of stems of P. crispus L. in 8 days** (April)
Increment of
No. of Biomass Quantity of SDS in Sum of the addition Fragmentation
the concentration
vessel (wet weight) (g) the addition (mg) of SDS (mg/l) level*
of SDS (mg/l)
1 7.3 0.0 0.00 0.00 0
2 7.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0
3 7.1 0.6 0.50 2.00 0
4 7.0 0.6 0.50 2.00 0
5 7.0 1.0 0.83 3.32 1
6 7.0 1.0 0.83 3.32 1
7 7.2 2.0 1.67 6.68 1
8 7.0 2.0 1.67 6.68 1
9 7.0 10.0 8.30 33.20 1
10 7.0 10.0 8.30 33.20 1
11 7.1 20.0 16.60 66.40 9
12 7.4 20.0 16.60 66.40 9
13 7.0 60.0 49.80 199.20 10
14 7.0 60.0 49.80 199.20 10
* The level of impact of the SDS on the macrophytes was estimated using a 10-point scale.
** Four additions were made within eight days.

Table 4. Level of the effect of SDS on the structural integrity of stems of P. crispus L. in 20 days** (April)
Increment of
No. of Biomass Quantity of SDS in Sum of the addition Fragmentation
the concentration
vessel (wet weight) (g) the addition (mg) of SDS (mg/l) level*
of SDS (mg/l)
1 7.3 0.0 0.00 0.00 0
2 7.0 0.0 0.00 0.00 0
3 7.1 0.6 0.50 5.00 1
4 7.0 0.6 0.50 5.00 1
5 7.0 1.0 0.83 8.30 1
6 7.0 1.0 0.83 8.30 1
7 7.2 2.0 1.67 16.70 1
8 7.0 2.0 1.67 16.70 1
9 7.0 10.0 8.30 83.00 1
10 7.0 10.0 8.30 83.00 1
11 7.1 20.0 16.60 166.00 –
12 7.4 20.0 16.60 166.00 –
13 7.0 60.0 49.80 199.20 –
14 7.0 60.0 49.80 199.20 –
* The level of impact of SDS on the macrophytes was estimated using a 10-point scale.
** Ten additions were made within 20 days (in vessel nos. 13 and 14, four additions were made during eight days; within eight days in
these vessels, 100% destruction of the plants was observed at the cumulative addition of 199.20 mg/l of SDS).

sition and destruction of plants were studied as part of ever, these studies did not involve the impact of xenobi-
the natural processes of dying off; destruction; organic otics on the decomposition of macrophytes.
detritus formation; and, finally, mineralization of vege- On the whole, the obtained results supplement the
tative biomass (e.g., Gamage and Asaeda, 2005). How- available knowledge on the sensitivity and tolerance of

MOSCOW UNIVERSITY BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES BULLETIN Vol. 62 No. 4 2007

 TOLERANCE OF AN AQUATIC MACROPHYTE
Table 5. Level of the effect of SDS on the macrophytes P. crispus L. after a single addition of SDS (September)
Biomass Quantity of SDS Concentration of
No. of
(wet weight) in the addition SDS in the vessel
vessel
(g) (mg) (mg/l)
17 7.0 100.0 83.33
18 7.0 120.0 100.00
19 7.1 160.0 133.33
* The level of impact of SDS on the macrophytes was estimated using a 10-point scale.
plants to synthetic surfactants (Ostroumov, 2001,
2006). The revealed impact of the seasons on the toler-
ance of the plants to the series of additions of surfac-
tants agrees with the previously described facts concern-
ing the influence of the seasons on the sensitivity of
aquatic plants to other xenobiotics (Kuz’mitskaya, 1999).
The obtained results are promising with respect to
phytoremediation of polluted sites. (Ulanova and
Ostroumov, 1999; McCitcheon and Schnoor, 2003).
SUMMARY
(1) The obtained data supply additional characteris-
tics of the sensitivity and tolerance of plants exposed to
pollutants of the surfactant class.
(2) The significance of the seasons for the tolerance
of macrophytes to surfactants is shown.
(3) The role of the size of the addition of the surfac-
tant in the series of repeated additions has been shown
to influence the manifestation or absence of a negative
effect at the end of the series of additions.
(4) Some of the obtained data may be important for
the determination of permissible loads of pollutants of
the surfactant class in water bodies overgrown with
macrophytes.
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