Single and combined effects of selected pharmaceuticals at sublethal concentrations on multiple biomarkers in Carassius auratus

Abstract

In this study, the sublethal effects of caffeine, sulfamethoxazole and their mixture on goldfish (Carassius auratus) were investigated, the biomarkers including acetylcholinesterase (AChE) in brain, 7-ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver and vitellogenin (VTG) in serum were determined after 1, 2, 4, and 7 days of exposure. AChE activity was significantly inhibited by caffeine (≥0.4 mg/l), sulfamethoxazole (≥0.4 mg/l) and their mixtures (≥0.048 mg/l) during all exposure periods, and obvious concentration-response and time-response relationships were obtained. EROD, GST and SOD activities were significantly increased by individual compounds and mixtures in most cases. GST induction exhibited bell-shaped concentration-response curves. Serum VTG was significantly induced by 2 mg/l of caffeine, 10 mg/l of sulfamethoxazole and the mixtures at concentrations ≥1.2 mg/l. In general, the two pharmaceuticals induced similar biological responses. The joint effect of caffeine/sulfamethoxazole was additive with regard to AChE and GST activity variation and was antagonistic with regard to EROD and SOD induction. The results indicated that multiple biomarker response method might be a useful tool for describing an integrated toxicological effect of chemicals. VTG induction suggested that caffeine and sulfamethoxazole may cause a slightly feminization effect.

Effects of the pharmaceutical contaminants ibuprofen, diclofenac, and carbamazepine alone, and in combination, on oxidative stress parameters in early life stages of tench (Tinca tinca)

“…GPx activity was inhibited in the M2 group ( Figure 2B), which may be caused by NSAIDs, which inhibit this enzyme as individual substances. Although a reduction in GPx activity might enhance the toxic effects of the tested substances on fish (Li et al 2012), no differences in LPO levels between the control and experimental groups exposed to the mixtures were found in our study.…”

Effects of azithromycin on tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus): health status evaluation using biochemical, physiological and morphological biomarkers

“…The absence of change of SOD, CAT and GPx activities suggests that the processes that involved uptake, distribution, metabolism and excretion of AZT, via bile, in the liver of O. niloticus did not generate sufficient ROS to induce the responses of these enzymes. However, the exposure to the macrolides roxythromycin (20 days) and erythromycin (28 days) (Liu, Lu, Wang, Yan, Yang & Ding ) and the sulfamethoxazole, a synthetic sulphonamide antibiotic (Li, Lu, Yang & Wang ), induced SOD activity in the liver of Carassius auratus at lower concentrations than those used in this study. CAT inhibition was found in O. niloticus exposed to enrofloxacin, a fluoroquinolone antibiotic, via water and diet exposure (Andrieu, Rico, Phu, Huong, Phuong & Brink ).…”

Responses of cytochrome P450, GST, and MXR in the mollusk Corbicula fluminea to the exposure to hospital wastewater effluents

“…Indeed, cytochrome p450 response is very early and transitory. Usually EROD activity is modified during all exposure time with organic pollutants (Curtis et al 2011;Martín-Díaz et al 2009) but some authors also showed a transitory response of EROD activity in case of exposure with different xenobiotics (PaB, PCP, pharmaceutics compounds, caffeine) in several organisms (bivalves, fishes) (Binelli et al 2006;Li et al 2012;Monari et al 2009;Thibaut and Porte 2008).…”