The harmful effect of commercial powder detergent on water flea (Daphnia sp.)

Detergents are a chemical product that is commonly used in personal care and household product on a daily basis. Its huge consumption in human activities resulted in the increasing awareness of its toxicity in the aquatic environment due to their active ingredients. Daphnia is a planktonic invertebrate organism that usually found in freshwater ecosystems. It plays an essential part in the lower trophic level of food chains. Because of its sensitivity to various environmental changes, they are generally used as a model organism in toxicology. In the present study, we analyzed the toxic effect of household detergent exposure on Daphnia sp. Four different concentration of detergent (25, 50, 75, and 100 mg.L^-1) were prepared and the aquadest was used as control. The mortality of Daphnia was observed for 24 hours. The result showed that the mortality of Daphnia increased along with the increasing concentration of detergent exposures. LC₅₀-24 hours values obtained in this study was 28.89 mg.L^-1. This result described that the higher level of detergent in a water body can be harmful to the aquatic organism, especially on Daphnia sp. as predominant food for planktivorous fish.