Acute and Chronic Toxicity of Carbamazepine on the Release of Chitobiase, Molting, and Reproduction in Daphnia similis

Abstract

As one of the most frequently detected pharmaceutical compounds in aquatic environments, carbamazepine (CBZ) has recently been shown to cause acute and chronic toxicity in a variety of non-target aquatic organisms. However, little is known about the ecotoxicological effects it has on the molting and reproduction of crustaceans. The aim of the present work was to evaluate the acute and chronic toxic responses to CBZ in the crustacean Daphnia similis. After acute exposure (4 days), CBZ did not cause lethal toxicity at the tested concentrations. However, CBZ did inhibit the molting and release of chitobiase at concentrations higher than 6.25 μg/L, with 96 h EC50 (median effective concentration) values of 864.38 and 306.17 μg/L, respectively. The results of chronic exposure showed that the mean number of molts, size of the first brood, mean number of offspring per brood, mean number of broods per female, and total offspring per female decreased significantly with increasing CBZ concentrations. Significant effects of CBZ on the molting or fecundity in D. similis were observed even at concentrations as low as 0.03 μg/L. In conclusion, CBZ can cause inhibition of molting, delayed reproduction, and reduced fecundity in D. similis. CBZ toxicity to D. similis depends on the timing and duration of the exposure. Moreover, our results indicated that CBZ would act as an endocrine disrupter in D. similis, as with vertebrates (e.g., fish).

Development and Molecular Investigation into the Effects of Carbamazepine Exposure in the Zebrafish (Danio rerio)

“…Environmentally relevant concentrations of CBZ have been shown to affect fish more often during chronic exposures compared to acute exposures [14,36,37]. Acute toxicity tests have revealed that CBZ is unlikely to be lethal at environmental levels, with reported LC50 (median lethal concentration) and EC50 (median effective concentration) values approaching mg/L levels, and do not exert effects on major physiological processes, such as growth and activity [37].…”

“…There were two exposure experiments; one was conducted for development and gene expression, and a second exposure was conducted for enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) measurements. CBZ concentrations were quantified after the exposure solutions were dosed in the beaker or in the microplate each week according to our previously described method [6,14]. Briefly, for water samples, CBZ concentrations were quantified before and after water was refreshed.…”

“…Studies have demonstrated that CBZ can adversely affect non-target species in aquatic environments [6,7,13,14]. As vertebrates, fish are perhaps more susceptible to pharmaceutical exposure than invertebrates because pharmaceuticals are designed for human (vertebrate) use.…”

Spatio-Temporal Distribution and Influencing Factors of Human and Veterinary Pharmaceuticals in the Tributary Surface Waters of the Han River Watershed, South Korea

“…Unfortunately, large quantities of pharmaceuticals in surface water can endanger aquatic organisms such as bacteria, algae, invertebrate, and fish. Biotoxicity and susceptibility of organisms to the pharmaceuticals vary depending on the compounds and species [32][33][34][35][36]. Further, pharmaceutical compounds are transformed into various organic by-products as they decompose in treatment facilities and in the natural environment.…”

Avaliações cito e ecotoxicológicas dos fotossensibilizadores fenotiazínicos atualmente utilizados no tratamento fotodinâmico antimicrobiano

“…Nesse teste, foi determinada a concentração efetiva de cada FS capaz de causar a imobilidade de 50% dos crustáceos. Por desempenar um importante papel no ecossistema aquático, sendo crucial como intermediária entre produtores e consumidores, o desequilíbrio na comunidade destes organismos pode desencadear respostas em nível de comunidade ou até mesmo ecossistema(NASSER;LYNCH, 2016;CHEN et al, 2019). Todos os FSs foram muito tóxicos para D. similis, tanto no escuro, como no claro, com valores de EC50 de 1-3 µM.…”