Short-term effects of various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on Danio rerio embryos

Imen Ben Chabchoubi; Rim Attya Bouchhima; Nacim Louhichi; Aissette Baanannou; Saber Masmoudi; Olfa Hentati

doi:10.1016/j.mex.2023.102215

Short-term effects of various non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on Danio rerio embryos

MethodsX. 2023 May 11:10:102215. doi: 10.1016/j.mex.2023.102215. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Imen Ben Chabchoubi^{1

2}, Rim Attya Bouchhima², Nacim Louhichi³, Aissette Baanannou³, Saber Masmoudi³, Olfa Hentati^{2

4}

Affiliations

¹ Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Monastir (ISBM), Rue Taher Haddad, 5000, University of Monastir, Monastir, Tunisia.
² Laboratoire Génie de l'Environnement et Ecotechnologie (GEET), Ecole Nationale d'Ingénieurs de Sfax (ENIS), Route de Soukra, Km 4, 3038, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.
³ Unité Cibles pour le Diagnostic et la Thérapie, Route Sidi Mansour, Km 6, 3018, Sfax, Center of Biotechnology of Sfax (CBS), Tunisia.
⁴ Institut Supérieur de Biotechnologie de Sfax (ISBS), Route de Soukra, Km 4, 3038, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia.

Abstract

Due to the widespread use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) without a medical prescription and their frequent prevalence in aquatic habitats, there are major health and environmental issues. NSAIDs have been found in surface water and wastewater in concentrations ranging from ng/L to μg/L all over the world. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between NSAIDs (diclofenac, ketoprofen, paracetamol and ibuprofen) exposure and associated adverse effects in the assessment of indirect human health risks posed by Danio rerio (zebrafish) and Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA) of these NSAIDs in aquatic environments. Therefore, the objectives of this study were to (i) reveal abnormality endpoints of early developmental stages, after exposure of zebrafish and (ii) perform an ecological risk assessment of aquatic organisms upon exposure to NSAIDs detected in surface waters based on the risk quotients (RQs) method. According to the toxicity data collected, all of the malformations appeared after diclofenac exposure at all concentrations. The most notable malformations were the lack of pigmentation and an increase in yolk sac volume, with EC₅₀ values of 0.6 and 1.03 mg/L, respectively. The results obtained for the ERA revealed RQs higher than 1 for all the four NSAIDs chosen, posing ecotoxicological pressure in aquatic environments. Overall, our findings provide a critical contribution to the formulation of high-priority actions, sustainable strategies and strict regulations that minimize the negative effects of NSAIDs on the aquatic ecosystem.•To determine the LC₅₀, lethal conditions such as coagulation, absence of heartbeat and blood flow, absence of tail separation and development of somites were taken into account.•The EC₅₀ was calculated using sublethal parameters such as blood coagulation, pericardial edema, yolk sac edema or hypertrophy.•The 4 compounds present a high risk individually and in mixture with a RQ >> 1.

Keywords: Determine the toxicity and environmental risks of diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and paracetamol in zebrafish embryos; Environmental risk assessment; Fish embryo toxicity (FET) test; Risk quotient; Toxic unit.