Resumen
Population growth allied with the modernization of society has increased water consumption and transformed reservoirs into indispensable sources of water supply. Several interrelated factors, conspicuously microcystins, have contributed to aggravate the risk of water deterioration. These hepatotoxins, produced by cyanobacteria of the Anabaena, Microcystis, Nostoc and Oscillatoria geni, consist of heptapeptides with monocyclic structures. The risk of constant ingestion is due to their powerful tumor promoter effect. The microcystin production is favored by environmental factors, such as high concentration of nutrients and light, inevitable in the current ecosystem. The eutrophycation of water occurs in an accelerated rhythm due to industrial pollution coupled to domestic and agricultural waste. The aim of this paper is to develop community awareness, as well as to arouse an interest in microcystins and other risk factors of contamination so that preventive measures to minimize water deterioration could be established.