Although it is known that textile wastewater contains highly toxic contaminants whose effects in humans represent public health problems in several countries, studies involving mammal species are scarce. This study was aimed to evaluate the toxicity profile of 90-days oral administration of textile dyeing effluent (TDE) on oxidative stress status and histological changes of male mice. The TDE was collected from the textile plant of Monastir, Tunisia and evaluated for the metals, aromatic amines, and textile dyes using analytical approaches. Metal analysis by ICP-MS showed that the tested TDE exhibited very high levels of Cr, As, and Sr, which exceeded the wastewater emission limits prescribed by WHO and Tunisian authority. The screening of TDE through UPLC-MS/MS confirmed the presence of two textile dyes: a triphenylmethane dye (Crystal violet) and a disperse azo dye (Disperse yellow 3). Exposure to TDE significantly altered the malondialdehyde (MDA), Conjugated dienes (CDs), Sulfhydryl proteins (SHP) and catalase levels in the hepatic and renal tissues. Furthermore, histopathology observation showed that hepatocellular and renal lesions were induced by TDE exposure. The present study concluded that TDE may involve induction of oxidative stress which ensues in pathological lesions in several vital organs suggesting its high toxicity. Metals and textile dyes may be associated with the observed toxicological effects of the TDE. These pollutants, which may have seeped into surrounding rivers in Monastir city, can cause severe health malaise in wildlife and humans.

The aim of this work was the investigation of the effect of wastewater generated from the poultry meat industry on the irrigation of olive trees, during a short time period, in order to evaluate its impact on pomological criteria and olive oil quality. Olive trees were subjected to irrigation with different water qualities: (i) poultry wastewater (PWW), (ii) poultry wastewater diluted with tap water 50:50 (v/v) (PWTWW), (iii) rain-fed cultivation system (control). The results showed that PWTWW contains the optimal mineral proportions, leading to improved pomological criteria. However, the highest significant pulp oil content was obtained using poultry wastewater irrigation (69.51%), while this was 66.71% using diluted poultry wastewater, and 58.03 % for the control. Poultry wastewater irrigation yielded the best results in oil standard quality indices. In addition, an enrichment in oil total polyphenols content was achieved. The oil fatty acid profile was not affected following irrigation with poultry wastewater. Nevertheless, there was a significant increase in the contents of oleic acid and alcohols, accompanied by a decrease in total sterols. However, heavy metals accumulation was observed in both fruits and olive oil. In conclusion, our results suggest that among the three water qualities, poultry wastewater is the best alternative to improve olive oil quality.

In the present study, a battery of biological tests undertaken in vitro and in vivo was used to evaluate the toxic potential of an organophosphorus insecticide, namely Fenitrothion. The cytotoxic effect of pesticide was evaluated with the MTT assay against two human cancer cell lines: Hep-2 and MDA-MB-231. Genotoxicity was also studied using the bacterial VITOTOX^® assay. The estrogenic effect was tested using the recombinant yeasts (YES) assay. Likewise, bioluminescence assays using V. fischeri and D. magna immobilization were performed. The results showed that Fenitrothion exhibits a variable cytotoxic effect depending on the dose as well as the studied cell lines, and no genotoxicity was observed in the tested sample. However, an estrogenic effect was recorded when investigating Fenitrothion using the recombinant yeasts (YES) assay. Analogously, acute toxicity was observed for both organisms and at all tested concentrations of Fenitrothion. Overall, these results underline the crucial importance of in vitro and in vivo bioassays in monitoring toxicity of pesticides.