Effects and Bioaccumulation of Pharmaceuticals on Native Anurans of Argentina

CAROLINA SALGADO COSTA; BAHL, MARIA FLORENCIA; SANTOS, L.; BRODEUR, JULIE CÉLINE; GUILLERMO S. NATALE; S. RODRIGUEZ-MOZAZ

Congreso; SETAC LatinAmerica 14th Biannual Meeting; 2021

The aim of the study was to evaluate the bioaccumulation and effects of widely used pharmaceuticals on adult toads of Rhinella arenarum, a neotropical species whose status conservation is least concern. Two sites were selected in the province of Buenos Aires (Argentina): Site 1 contains mainly grasslands and temporary ponds with a low degree of anthropogenic influence and currently with livestock; Site 2 contains a sewage effluent that discharges in the surrounding fields and connects with small ponds and a lagoon. Water samples were collected in both sites, filtered through 0.45 μm nylon membrane filters, and extracted by solid phase extraction using OASIS HLB cartridges (60 mg, 3 cc). Adults collected from both sites were anesthetized for blood extraction with heparinized capillaries to determine blood parameters (hematocrit, hemoglobin); then, they were weighed, measured and dissected for sampling of different tissues (muscle, liver, and fat body). Different morphological rates (hepatosomatic, fat body and body condition rate) were also calculated. For the analysis of pharmaceuticals, tissue samples were freeze-dried and further extracted using a bead beater followed by a clean-up step with solid phase extraction. All the samples were analyzed by LC-MS/MS. This is the first national and international study to evaluate the environmental bioaccumulation and effects of pharmaceuticals in anurans. The body condition rate was the only one that showed significant differences (p < 0.05), with toads from Site 2 being smaller than those from Site 1. Toads of both sites showed bioaccumulation of more than 20 pharmaceuticals, including various analgesics, antibiotics, and psychiatric drugs, among others therapeutic groups. Pharmaceuticals? bioaccumulation can be a good biomarker of exposure to make inferences about the quality of the studied environments.