Diclofenac effects on the health status of Zenaida auriculata

ROSALES, GJ; FILIPPA, V.; PEREZ, E.; CHEDIACK, J. G.; CID, F. D.

San Juan

Congreso; XLI Reunión Científica Anual de la Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo; 2023

Sociedad de Biología de Cuyo

Diclofenac (DFC) is a contaminant of emerging concern of great current significance, widely used in our country as an analgesic in human and veterinary medicine. It has been observed that this environmental pollutant can affect kidney and liver function in certain vertebrates. The toxicity of diclofenac to birds is related to the accumulation of uric acid in the plasma, which can lead to kidney damage and failure. Different bird species have varying sensitivities to the drug. However, there is a lack of knowledge about the effect of DFC in passerines birds and native birds of Argentina. Thus, the main objective of this work was to elucidate the DFC effects on the health of Eared Dove (Zenaida auriculata) through the evaluation of biochemical parameters, body weight and daily water intake. Four groups (n=7) were exposed during 10 days to 0.005 mg/kg (G1), 0.25 mg/kg (G2) and 2.5 mg/kg (G3) DFC concentration administered by intermittent gavage each day at the same time, and one control group that were administered only with water without DFC. Before (ti) and after (tf) exposure, body weight was measured and blood extraction were performed at the same time (9:00 am), to avoid disturbing by circadian or daily variation. Water intake was measured daily during the ten days of exposure. Concentration of different biochemical parameters were determined using a CM200 Automatic Biochemistry Analyzer Wiener Lab, like albumin, alkaline phosphatase, cholinesterase, glucose, GOT, GPT, total proteins, triglycerides, urea, and uric acid. Statistical analysis for biochemical parameters was performed using RM-ANOVA, and one-way ANOVA for body weight and water intake results (Tukey post-hoc test, p < 0.05). We found a significant decrease in the albumin and total proteins concentrations (p  0.05) between G3 group and control group. Besides, these concentrations were decreased between G3 tf and G3 ti (p  0.05). The other parameters analyzed remained constant through all treatments. These results suggest that the administration of DFC at a concentration of 2.5 mg/kg might be affecting liver function. Consistent with reports in other species, subtle hepatocellular disruption could occur during chronic liver damage, resulting in normal GPT values but decreased albumin and other plasma proteins. However, further histological studies are necessary to support this observation.