Toxicity of Antiretrovirals on the Sea Urchin Echinometra lucunter and Its Predicted Environmental Concentration in Seawater from Santos Bay (Brazilian Coastal Zone)

Abstract

Antiretrovirals (ARVs) have been detected in aquatic ecosystems throughout the world; however, studies focused on assessing their ecotoxicological effects on marine aquatic organisms are still rare. In the present study, the predicted environmental concentration (PEC) of 13 ARVs was estimated for surface seawater from Santos Bay, Brazil, according to the European Medicines Agency (EMEA) guidelines. The results indicated that all ARVs need to be assessed for their ecological effects, considering that they all exceeded the EMEA guideline limits (PEC > 0.01 µg L−1). In this sense, three ARVs (namely atazanavir, nevirapine and efavirenz) were selected for the acute and chronic tests with sea urchin (Echinometra lucunter). Furthermore, the Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) for these three ARVs was also performed by calculating the risk quotient. The acute and chronic toxicity results showed inhibitory concentrations (IC) for the fertilization (IC50; 1 h; range: 11.46–84.61 mg L−1) and for the embryo–larval development (IC50; 42 h; range: 0.52–0.97 mg L−1) of the sea urchin, respectively. Moreover, the ERA showed that these three ARVs are potentially hazardous for aquatic life in Santos Bay, raising concerns about the continuous introduction of ARVs in aquatic ecosystems. The data presented may contribute to the provision of subsidies for the development of monitoring public policies that aim to reduce the introduction of ARVs into the aquatic environment.

Integration of Water Quantity/Quality Needs with Socio-Economical Issues: A Focus on Monitoring and Modelling

“…Sakai Cid et al [15] addressed antiretrovirals (ARVs) in coastal waters. These pharmaceuticals are present in aquatic ecosystems worldwide and can have ecotoxicological effects on marine aquatic organisms.…”

Assessment of sediment porewater toxicity in Biscayne National Park with sea urchin (Lytechinus variegatus) embryos

“…and detergents into the water column, many that have been engineered to resist biotic and abiotic degradation, and which have a high propensity for binding to biota or sediments [39]. Many of these types of compounds are toxic to sea urchin embryos and other marine organisms [40][41][42][43]. It is likely BISC receives some sewage input from leaky septic systems and impeded water flow resulting from habitat fragmentation (canal construction) allows higher retention of these types of compounds in the sediment reservoir [44].…”