Impact of growing antibiotic pollution on aquatic animals

Abstract

Anthropogenic actions increment the bulks of nutrients, organic matter and hazardous substances in water bodies. Therefore, they are important driving forces impoverishing the status of many freshwater reservoirs. Among them, novel ‘emerging’ contaminants, like pharmaceuticals can be also accounted. Antibiotics produce multiple effects on mussels, such as haemocyte low viability, phagocitosis, thiol abnormal levels and others; ibuprofen d iminishes lysosomal membrane stability in mollusks; diclofenac produces oxidative imbalances in mussels; anticancer agents can affect mussels and sea star; fluoxetine affects mRNA down regulation in mussels; estrogens increase DNA damage in mussels DNA da mage; finally, lipid regulators can lower lysosomal membrane stability. Pharmaceuticals also possess an effect on vertebrates Diclofenac affects growth and lipid peroxidation in zebra fish; ibuprofen decreases prostaglandine concentration in fathead minnow s; antifungals decrease fertility of male zebra fishes; antidepresants decrease hunting ability of fathead minnows; antibiotics can produce histological changes in gills and liver of mosquitofish; antihypertensives can affect the glucose level of rainbow t rout. Current research is developing potential remediation tools to improve the situation using grape polyphenolic extracts as chelants of heavy metals; or even zero valent iron nanoparticles prepared with polyphenol extracts to remediate pharmaceuticals.