Bioaccumulation of pharmaceutical compounds and illicit drugs in fish from Argentina

ONDARZA, PAOLA M.; HADDAD, SAMUEL P.; AVIGLIANO, ESTEBAN; BROOKS BRYAN; MIGLIORANZA KARINA SILVIA BEATRIZ

Congreso; 12th Biennial Meeting Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry; 2017

Pharmaceutical compounds (PhC) and illicit drugs (ID) are Contaminants of EmergingConcern, which are continuously released into waters with potential adverse effectson biota. Therefore, the presence of PhC and ID receives more attention from scientificand government areas. Bioaccumulation of PhC and ID has been observed around theworld, however data from Argentina remains poorly studied. This research assessedthe bioaccumulation of PhC, ID and their metabolites in muscle, liver and gills of fourfish species (Rhamdia quelen, Hypostomus fuliginosus, Hoplias lacerdae andProchilodus lineatus) from two different areas: 1-Paraná river, an urban stream whichreceives the discharge of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) from Posadas city,and 2-Acaraguá river, inside of the natural reserve ?Antonia Ramos Research Center?which does not receive WWTP effluents. Twenty-Seven PhC were analyzed by LCMS/MS Agilent 6420 Triple Quad with ESI. Fish from the natural reserve presentedhigher levels of PhC than the Paraná river (12.8 and 6.6 ng/g ww, respectively). Itcould be associated with a dilution effect due to the Parana river flow (17,300 m³/s)that is several times higher than the WWTP discharge (0.25 m³/s). Levels of PhC, IDand their metabolites in liver of all species were markedly higher than those observedin gills and muscle. Antibiotics such as sulfamethoxazole (SUL) and trimethoprim(TRI) presented the highest levels (10.7 ng/g ww TRI+SUL), however erythromycinwas found in 100% of samples (range 0.7-5.6 ng/g ww). TRI+SUL are broad-spectrumantibiotics commonly used for treating bacterial infections in human and animals.Caffeine levels ranged from 0.6-13 ng/g ww in both areas, which is an indicator ofuntreated sanitary wastewater inputs. Norfluoxetine, a metabolite of fluoxetine, wasthe main antidepressant found (2.4-3.8 ng/g ww) showing the increase consumptionof this group of PhC in Argentina. Benzoylecgonine, a primary metabolite of cocaine,was found in both areas with the highest levels in fish from the reserve (1.6 ng/g ww).These findings reveal the occurrence of PhC in natural areas in Argentina, whichrepresent biodiversity reserves of the Atlantic forest. Moreover, these results also showthat further studies of PhC and their metabolites within different environmentalcompartments are needed. The potential effects of PhC, which are bioactive even atlow concentrations, on the non-target biota should be addressed in future studies