Simple and Efficient Method for Isolation and Measurement of Cyanobacterial Hepatotoxins by Plant Tests (Sinapis alba L.)

Abstract A simple and cost-effective method for isolating and assaying microcystins, cyanobacterial toxins, by C-18 cartridges, DEAE-cellulose (DE-52) chromatography, and a mustard ( Sinapis alba L.) plant seedling test is described. The procedure results in a purity of up to 95-97% microcystin without the need for an HPLC system and justifies the use of the S. alba L. seedling test in the quantitative assessment of the toxin with an IC 50 of 3 μg ml −1 instead of the mouse intraperitoneal test.