No abstract

Sucralose (SUC) is an artificial sweetener that is now widely used in North American and Europe; it has been detected in a wide variety of aquatic environments. It is considered safe for human consumption but its effects in the ecosystem have not yet been studied in depth, since limited ecotoxicological data are available in the peer-reviewed literature. This study aimed to evaluate potential SUC-induced toxicological hazard in the blood, brain, gill, liver and muscle of Cyprinus carpio using oxidative stress biomarkers. Carps were exposed to two different environmentally relevant concentrations (0.05 and 155μgL) for different exposure times (12, 24, 48, 72 and 96h). The following biomarkers were evaluated: lipid peroxidation (LPX), hydroperoxide content (HPC) and protein carbonyl content (PCC), as well as the activity of antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT). SUC was determined by high pressure liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry techniques (HPLC)-MS/MS. Results show a statically significant increase in LPX, HPC, PCC (P<0.05) especially in gill, brain and muscle, as well as significant changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes in gill and muscle. Furthermore, the biomarkers employed in this study are useful in the assessment of the environmental impact of this agent on aquatic species.

Amoxicillin is a broad-spectrum antibiotic widely used for treating both human and animal diseases, and it belongs to a group that are excreted unchanged within urine and faeces; therefore, it is possible to find traces of this drug or its degradation products in environmental water bodies. In water, it is rapidly degraded by biotic and abiotic factors, yielding different intermediate products; these are suspected of being more resistant to degradation, and potentially more toxic, than the parent compound. In the water bodies, these compounds may produce toxic effects on the aquatic organisms from different trophic levels and produce an ecological imbalance. Amoxicillin may bioaccumulate in fish muscle tissues, with the possibility of the occurrence of these drugs in food, leading to a passive consumption of this antibiotic resulting in undesirable effects on consumer health such as immunoallergic responses. However, the main problem related with the presence of this antimicrobial compounds in fish tissues is the possibility of inducing bacterial resistance genes. At present, the available scientific knowledge is less than what is needed to fully assess the risks that amoxicillin pose to the environment, and it is still necessary to conduct large amount of research works before a thorough understanding of this severe environmental issue.

No abstract

No abstract