Uptake, biotransformation and physiological response of TBBPA in mangrove plants after hydroponics exposure

To better understand the uptake, biotransformation and physiological response to tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) in mangrove plants, a short term 14-day hydroponic assay with two mangrove species, Avicennia marina (A. marina) and Kandelia obovata (K. obovata), was conducted. Results showed that two mangrove species could uptake, translocate and accumulate TBBPA from solution. The hydroxylation and debromination metabolites of TBBPA, including OH-TBBPA, TriBBPA, MonoBBPA, and BPA, were found in both mangroves for the first time. The high-level TBBPA suppressed the growth and increased malondialdehyde (MDA) content of K. obovata, did not pose any negative affect on A. marina. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) of K. obovata significantly increased in the 7th day, whereas, SOD and POD activities at high-levels of TBBPA became comparable to the control in the 14th day. Contrastingly, the antioxidant enzymes activities of A. marina were positively stimulated by TBBPA during the 14-day of observation, indicating that A. marina was more tolerant of TBBPA.