Assessment of the effects of non-phthalate plasticizer DEHT on the bivalve molluscs Mytilus galloprovincialis

Miriam Porretti; Federica Impellitteri; Alessia Caferro; Ambrogina Albergamo; Federica Litrenta; Mariacristina Filice; Sandra Imbrogno; Giuseppa Di Bella; Caterina Faggio

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139273

Assessment of the effects of non-phthalate plasticizer DEHT on the bivalve molluscs Mytilus galloprovincialis

Chemosphere. 2023 Sep:336:139273. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139273. Epub 2023 Jun 19.

Authors

Miriam Porretti¹, Federica Impellitteri², Alessia Caferro³, Ambrogina Albergamo⁴, Federica Litrenta⁵, Mariacristina Filice⁶, Sandra Imbrogno⁷, Giuseppa Di Bella⁸, Caterina Faggio⁹

Affiliations

¹ University of Messina, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, 98100, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: miriam.porretti@studenti.unime.it.
² University of Messina, Department of Veterinary Sciences, Viale Giovanni Palatucci Snc, 98168, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: federica.impellitteri@studenti.unime.it.
³ University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, Via P. Bucci, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy. Electronic address: alessia.caferro1@gmail.com.
⁴ University of Messina, Department of Biomedical, Dental, Morphological and Functional Images Sciences (BIOMORF), 98100, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: aalbergamo@unime.it.
⁵ University of Messina, Department of Biomedical, Dental, Morphological and Functional Images Sciences (BIOMORF), 98100, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: federica.litrenta@studenti.unime.it.
⁶ University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, Via P. Bucci, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy. Electronic address: mariacristina.filice@unical.it.
⁷ University of Calabria, Department of Biology, Ecology and Earth Sciences, Via P. Bucci, 87036, Arcavacata di Rende, Cosenza, Italy. Electronic address: sandra.imbrogno@unical.it.
⁸ University of Messina, Department of Biomedical, Dental, Morphological and Functional Images Sciences (BIOMORF), 98100, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: gdibella@unime.it.
⁹ University of Messina, Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, 98100, Messina, Italy. Electronic address: cfaggio@unime.it.

PMID: 37343639
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2023.139273

Abstract

Due to their uncontrolled use, plastics has become an environmental concern, not only for their varying dimension but also for the potential release of substances such as phthalates (PAEs) and non-phthalates (NPPs) into the water. Phthalates are the most common plasticizers of concern, but non-phthalate plasticizers such as di (2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate (DEHT) have also been lately found in the marine environment. Mytilus galloprovincialis is a well-known bioindicator of aquatic environments due to its ability to accumulate a wide variety of xenobiotics, including plasticizers. Hence, aim of this study was to evaluate the potential bioaccumulation and effects of the NPP DEHT on M. galloprovincialis. To this purpose, following exposure to DEHT at 1 mg/l (DEHT1) and 100 mg/l (DEHT100), its accumulation in tissues and its effects on total lipids and fatty acid (FA) composition, protein content, cell viability, ability to recover volume and changes in biomarkers of oxidative stress were assessed. Mussels were able to bioaccumulate DEHT in their tissues, with a statistically significant increase compared to the control organisms. Differences in FA composition were observed after exposure, since C16:0, C18:0, C20:5ω-3 and C22:6ω-3 were significantly decreased from control to exposed groups. As a result, total SFA, MUFA and PUFA were affected in DEHT-exposed groups. Also, total protein varied following DEHT exposure, and significantly decreased in the DEHT100-group. Considering the physiological responses, both DEHT-exposed groups lost their ability to return to the original volume of digestive gland (DG) cells. On the other hand, oxidative biomarkers in the gills and DG were not significantly affected by the DEHT exposure. Overall, this study showed for the first time that DEHT exposure differentially affect mussels, in their lipid and protein metabolism, as well as cellular parameters.

Keywords: Biochemical parameters; Cytotoxicity test; Di(2-ethylhexyl) terephthalate; Mytilus galloprovincialis; Nutritional values.

MeSH terms

Animals
Environmental Biomarkers
Fatty Acids
Mytilus* / metabolism
Plasticizers* / analysis

Substances

Plasticizers
phthalic acid
Fatty Acids
Environmental Biomarkers