The aquatic macrophyte Salvinia molesta mitigates herbicides (glyphosate and aminomethylphosphonic acid) effects to aquatic invertebrates.

We evaluated the individual and combined effects of different environmentally representative concentrations of glyphosate (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 µg l -1 ) and aminomethylphosphonic acid (AMPA; 0, 12.5, 25, 37.5, and 50 µg l -1 ) on the physiology of Aedes aegypti larvae, as well as the capacity of the aquatic macrophyte Salvinia molesta to attenuate those compounds' toxicological effects. Larvae of Ae. aegypti (between the third and fourth larval stages) were exposed for 48 h to glyphosate and/or AMPA in the presence or absence of S. molesta. Glyphosate and AMPA induced sublethal responses in Ae. aegypti larvae during acute exposures. Plants removed up to 49% of the glyphosate and 25% of AMPA from the water, resulting in the exposure of larvae to lower concentration of those compounds in relation to media without plants. As a result, lesser effects of glyphosate and/or AMPA were observed on larval acetylcholinesterase, P450 reductase, superoxide dismutase, mitochondrial electron transport chain enzymes, respiration rates, and lipid peroxidation. In addition to evidence of deleterious effects by media contamination with glyphosate and AMPA on aquatic invertebrates, our results attest to the ability of S. molesta plants to mitigate the toxicological impacts of those contaminants.