The hemolytic activity of the dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides from Bahía de La Paz, Gulf of California was investigated as part of the ichthyotoxic mechanism of this microalga. Two different kinds of erythrocytes, fish and human, were tested for the hemolytic assay. Since fatty acids have been associated with hemolytic activity in C. polykrikoides, the composition of fatty acids of this dinoflagellate was also analyzed. The concentration of C. polykrikoides causing 50% hemolysis (HE₅₀) was 4.88 and 5.27 × 10⁶ cells L⁻¹, for fish and human erythrocytes, respectively. According to the standard curve of saponin, an equivalence between the hemolytic activity of saponin and the dinoflagellate concentration was found with 1 μg saponin mL⁻¹ equivalent to 1 × 10⁶ cells L⁻¹ of C. polykrikoides. The polyunsaturated fatty acids: hexadecaenoic (16:0), docosahexaenoic (22:6 n3) and octadecapentaenoic (18:5 n3) were found in an abundance of ∼62% of total fatty acids.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	hemolysis, Cochlodinium polykrikoides, dinoflagellate, harmful algal bloom
Research Division:	Biological Sciences
Research Group:	Ecology
Research Field:	Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
Objective Division:	Animal Production and Animal Primary Products
Objective Group:	Fisheries - Aquaculture
Objective Field:	Aquaculture Fin Fish (excl. Tuna)
UTAS Author:	Dorantes Aranda, JJ (Dr Juan Dorantes Aranda)
ID Code:	91567
Year Published:	2009
Web of Science® Times Cited:	17
Deposited By:	IMAS Research and Education Centre
Deposited On:	2014-05-22
Last Modified:	2015-08-20
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