Comparison of the sensitivity of seven marine and freshwater bioassays as regards antidepressant toxicity assessment

Abstract

The hazards linked to pharmaceutical residues like antidepressants are currently a major concern of ecotoxicology because they may have adverse effects on non-target aquatic organisms. Our study assesses the ecotoxicity of three antidepressants (fluoxetine, sertraline and clomipramine) using a battery of marine and freshwater species representing different trophic levels, and compares the bioassay sensitivity levels. We selected the following bioassays: the algal growth inhibition test (Skeletonema marinoi and Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata), the microcrustacean immobilization test (Artemia salina and Daphnia magna), development and adult survival tests on Hydra attenuata, embryotoxicity and metamorphosis tests on Crassostrea gigas, and in vitro assays on primary cultures of Haliotis tuberculata hemocytes. The results showed high inter-species variability in EC50-values ranging from 43 to 15,600 µg/L for fluoxetine, from 67 to 4,400 µg/L for sertraline, and from 4.70 µg/L to more than 100,000 µg/L for clomipramine. Algae (S. marinoi and P. subcapitata) and the embryo-larval stages of the oyster C. gigas were the most sensitive taxa. This raises an issue due to their ecological and/or economic importance. The marine crustacean A. salina was the least sensitive species. This difference in sensitivity between bioassays highlights the importance of using a test battery.

Human pharmaceuticals in the marine environment: Focus on exposure and biological effects in animal species

“…Therefore, LMS may be exploited for rapid screening of pharmaceutical exposure. In addition, very recent studies have reported that tests on larval stages could represent a promising approach for marine species given their rapid responses, high sensitivity, and high ecological value . In our opinion, the concomitant analysis of multiple MOA relevant endpoints and biomarkers covers different routes of pharmaceutical interactions with marine organisms and may help in developing new biomonitoring strategies for the marine environment.…”

Adverse effects of the SSRI antidepressant sertraline on early life stages of marine invertebrates

“…Based on LC 50 and EC 50 values, the most sensitive tests were those performed on A. amphitrite naupliar larvae (Table 1). These values were much lower than those found for other marine and freshwater crustaceans commonly used as ecotoxicological models such as A. salina (4080 mg/L) or D. magna (1150 mg/L) (Minguez et al, 2014a(Minguez et al, , 2014b ( Table 2). Barnacles play important ecological roles in marine coastal environments, and the impairment of important behavior traits of barnacle larvae such as motility may have an indirect effect on the coastal systems as a whole (Wu et al, 1997).…”

“…2 and 4) (Christensen et al, 2007;Minagh et al, 2009). Another common model organism in ecotoxicological tests, the brine shrimp Artemia salina resulted to be very resistant to SRT, with a value of EC 50 of 4080 mg/L in 48 h-immobilization tests (Minguez et al, 2014b).…”

“…In particular, among marine species, A. salina was utilized for the microcrustacean immobilization test and Crassostrea gigas for embryotoxicity and metamorphosis (Minguez et al, 2014b). High variability in EC 50 values for SRT was observed, ranging from 67 mg/ L (oyster embryotoxicity) to >4000 mg/L for A. salina immobilization test ( Table 2).…”

“…The application of early life-stage toxicity tests, involving exposure during the most sensitive stages of the organisms to environmental stress, would greatly help in the identification of the possible impact of SSRIs on marine species. Sertraline (SRT) has been considered as most acutely toxic SSRI towards freshwater algae, crustaceans and fish (Christensen et al, 2007;Henry et al, 2004;Johnson et al, 2007;Paterson and Metcalfe, 2008), but few reports have focused on marine organisms (Bossus et al, 2014;Minagh et al, 2009;Minguez et al, 2014b). SRT is commonly used in the treatment of generalized anxiety and sleep disorders (WHO, 2015).…”