Acute toxicity of 30 pharmaceutically active compounds to freshwater planarians, Dugesia japonica
Journal
Toxicological and Environmental Chemistry
Journal Volume
95
Journal Issue
7
Pages
1157-1170
Date Issued
2013
Author(s)
Abstract
Pharmaceutically active compounds are produced worldwide and consumed in large quantities, so these chemicals are frequently detected in limnic environments posing potential ecological risks. Thirty pharmaceutically active compounds were selected for examination of their acute toxicity for freshwater planarians (Dugesia japonica). Among the 30 compounds tested, diclofenac, mefenamic acid, naproxen, propranolol HCl, and diphenhydramine HCl had a 48-h nominal LC50 below10 mg L-1, and for 18 chemicals, it exceeded 100 mg L-1. The 96-h nominal LC50 was below 10 mg L-1 for diclofenac, mefenamic acid, naproxen, propranolol HCl, diltiazem HCl, diphenhydramine HCl, hydroxyzine HCl, and triprolidine HCl, and for 15 chemicals, it exceeded 100 mg L-1. Among different therapeutic groups, analgesics were most toxic to planarians, and antibiotics were least toxic. Antihistamines and beta blockers varied in their acute toxicity to planarians. At the current environmental levels, none of the tested pharmaceutically active compounds may have acutely harmful impacts on aquatic invertebrates. To answer the question whether chronic, long-term exposure to pharmaceutically active compounds may entail ecological risks for aquatic ecosystems, further investigations with different end points in multiple species tests are needed. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.
Subjects
analgesics; antibiotics; antihistamines; beta blockers; Dugesia japonica
SDGs
Other Subjects
analgesics; antihistamines; Aquatic invertebrates; Beta-blockers; Dugesia japonicas; Environmental levels; Pharmaceutically active compounds; Potential ecological risk; Antibiotics; Chemicals; Ecology; Water; Toxicity; concentration (composition); drug; ecotoxicology; environmental risk; flatworm; freshwater environment; pollution effect; toxicity test; Dugesia japonica; Invertebrata; Turbellaria
Type
journal article