Uptake, distribution in different tissues and genotoxicity of imidacloprid in the freshwater fish Australoheros facetus

ITURBURU FERNANDO GASTÓN; CRUPKIN ANDREA CARINA; MENONE MIRTA LUJÁN; ZÖMISCH MARKUS; CONTARDO JARA VALESKA; PANZERI ANA; PFLUGMACHER LIMA STEPHAN

Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry

Wiley

Lugar: Buenos Aires; Año: 2017 vol. 36 p. 699 - 708

The neonicotinoid imidacloprid is under re-evaluation by regulatory agencies because of the poor current informationavailable regarding its potential effects. One of the goals of the present study was to determine imidacloprid uptake and distribution in thefreshwater fish Australoheros facetus experimentally exposed for 24 h and 48 h to 100mg/L, 300 mg/L, and 2500 mg/L. The toxicity ofimidacloprid to fish reported in the literature is in the milligrams per liter or gram per liter range, but sublethal effects at micrograms perliter in some groups other than fish have been described. Another goal of the present study was to evaluate imidacloprid?s potentialgenotoxicity and to compare it between the individual compound and a commercial formulation. Concentrations of imidacloprid weremeasured in water, brain, muscle, gills, gut, liver, and blood by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Imidacloprid wasdetected in all the tissues tested. Concentrations were higher after 48 h than after 24 h in liver, gills, gut, and muscle, whereas in brain andblood they were similar at both exposure times. Although there was no accumulation, only uptake, of imidacloprid, genotoxicity wasobserved. In fish exposed to IMIDA NOVA 351, increased micronucleus frequency at 100 mg/L and 1000mg/L was detected, whereas inthe imidacloprid active ingredient bioassay it increased only at 1000 mg/L imidacloprid. The present findings warn of the possibleconsequences that fish living in freshwater ecosystems can suffer.