Application of terpenes as possible inducers of biodegradation of PCBs

The study evaluates the effect of two terpenes, carvone and limonene, as potential inducers of the PCB-degrading pathway of a commercial mixture of PCBs, DELOR 103. The purpose was to find out whether addition of terpenes stimulates biodegradation and how this effect depends on terpene concentrations. The addition of the studied terpenes, which could not serve as a sole carbon source, exerted an enhancing effect on PCB degradation when xylose was used as the carbon source and carvone as the possible inducer. In this case, already 7-37% of the individual PCB congeners were degraded without carvone addition, while 30-70% of the congeners were degraded after carvone addition. Good water solubility of carvone, its low costs and effectiveness make it a potential inducer for practical cleanup of DELOR-contaminated soil.