Ecological Risk Assessment of Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) in Aquatic Environments

PEREZ, R.; ROSSI, A.; ELORRIAGA, Y.; BACCHETTA, C.; CARRIQUIRIBORDE, P.; CAZENAVE, J.

Buenos Aires

Congreso; SETAC Latin America 11th Biennial Meeting; 2015

Evidences of ?in situ? adverse effects induced by wastewaters discharges on aquatic biota are scarce in Latin-American Rivers. Caged field experiment was conducted to investigate the impact of a sewage effluent on oxidative stress, metabolic parameters and histological alterations in liver of juveniles Prochilodus lineatus. Fish were caged during 15 days in the Colastiné River at the following sites: 2 km upstream, immediately and 2 km downstream from the sewage effluent discharge point. Physicochemical parameters and the occurrence of some pharmaceuticals in water samples were analyzed in each site. Antioxidants enzymes (Catalase, Glutathione reductase, Glutathione-S-transferase: GST, Superoxide dismutase), transaminases activities (L-Alanine-2-oxaloglutarate aminotransferase, L-Aspartate-2-oxaloglutarate aminotransferase: AST), lipid peroxidation, energetic cost (glycogen, lipid, protein) and histopathology were assessed in the liver of caged fish. Most environmental variables were similar in the three sites, except for nitrite, phosphorus and total and fecal coliforms, which were higher in the effluents compared with upstream and downstream sites. Close to the effluent discharge, mean dissolved levels of caffeine, atenolol, enalapril and sildenafil were 0.166, 0.065, 0.436, 5.452, 8.541 μg/L, respectively. Caged fish exposed to the effluent showed a decrease of the GST activity, higher levels of AST activity and lipid peroxidation, compared with up and downstream caged fish. Also, lipids contents were lower in the effluent caged fish; while glycogen contents were lower in downstream caged fish. Histological alteration recorded in fish from effluent site included focal necrosis, irregular sharped of nucleus of hepatocytes and occurrence of abundant yellow-brown granules indicating bile stagnation. Biochemical and histological biomarker detected alterations in liver of caged fish exposed at wastewater effluents and suggest liver toxicity induced for this exposition