Can environmentally relevant concentrations of carbamazepine induce short-term sublethal effects on the hydrophyte Myriophyllum quitense?

DÉBORA J. PÉREZ; ANDREA C. CRUPKIN; LUCAS R. LOMBARDERO; ELENA OKADA; FERNANDO G. ITURBURU; MIRTA L. MENONE

Waco, Texas.

Congreso; 9th Young Environmental Scientists Meeting; 2020

Baylor University, Departament of Environmental Science

Carbamazepine is one of the most prescribed human pharmaceutical drug worldwide. It has been proposed as an anthropogenic activity marker to assess water quality due to its low removal capacity in wastewater treatment plants and its frequent occurrence in aquatic ecosystems. Carbamazepine has a high potential of bioaccumulation in macrophytes. However, its sublethal effects on non-target aquatic plants are poorly reported. The objective of this study was to assess whether low levels of carbamazepine induces short-term sublethal effects on the hydrophyte Myriophyllum quitense, using photosynthetic and oxidative stress biomarkers. Plants of M. quitense (n = 6 per treatment) were exposed to increased concentrations of carbamazepine (0, 0.1, 1.0, 10, 20, 100 µg/L) in individual glass jars of 0.34 L for 48 hs, under natural photoperiod (10 h light / 14 h darkness). A battery of biomarkers, which included total chlorophyll, chlorophyll a and b, carotenoids content, catalase and guaiacol peroxidase activity and lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde content) was evaluated. The results were analyzed by the non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis test and by Dunn test. A significant increase in the malondialdehyde content was observed at the lowest tested concentration (0.1 µg/L, p