Bioluminescence Method as a Screening Test of Mercury Content in Whitening Products

Abstract

A variety of whitening products contain mercury, which imposes a health concern. This study was undertaken to assess the chemical toxicity of mercury using the bioluminescence method and its relation to the chemical present in whitening products. Different whitening products were gathered and labelled as Brands X, Y, and Z. Aliivibrio fischeri were isolated from the squid’s ink,and were streaked multiple times at Tryptone Yeast Extract Glycerol Salt Water Plate and was incubated at 24oC for 10 hours. A brightly luminous colony was harvested and inoculated into freshly prepared artificial seawater. 4drops of each whitening product in 0.01 v/v concentration was placed in each test tube. The result of ICP –OES showed that brand X has the highest mercury content with 0.589 % while brand Z have the lowest mercury content with 0.182%. Spectrometry proved that brand Y has the highest related intensity ranging from 0% to 0.42% among the whitening product samples. The relative intensity of bioluminescence in whitening products decreases by 0.13% to 0.01%, 0.22% to 0.1 %, and 0.16 % to 0.1% respectively. Brand X is the fastest while brand Z is the slowest. The computed F is 7.232 which exceeds Fo.o1 = 5.3905that means the intensity of light of bioluminescence differs significantly across whitening products with different mercury content. The computed R is -0.991, which indicates very high correlation and highly significant (p< 0.05). As the mercury content of whitening product increases the intensity of light of the bioluminescence decreases and vice versa.