Chronic toxicity of diphenhydramine hydrochloride and erythromycin thiocyanate to daphnia, Daphnia magna, in a continuous exposure test system.
Diphenhydramine hydrochloride (DH; Benadryl™, an over-the-counter antihistamine) and erythromycin thiocyanate (ET; a commonly used macrolide antibiotic) are pharmaceutical compounds whose chronic toxicity to Daphnia magna had not been characterized. Continuous exposure to DH concentrations about 5 times greater than the maximum reported environmental concentration of 0.023 μg/L for 21 days or to ET concentrations about 40 times the maximum reported environmental concentration of 6 μg/L for 21 days did not significantly impact D. magna survival and production. In this study the no observable effect concentration for DH was 0.12 μg/L and for ET was 248 μg/L.
Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, WI 54603, USA. jmeinertz@usgs.gov
Jeffery R
JR
Meinertz
Theresa M
TM
Schreier
Jeffry A
JA
Bernardy
Jeanne L
JL
Franz
D000818:Animals; D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D003621:Daphnia / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000254:growth & development; D004155:Diphenhydramine / Q000633:toxicity*; D004917:Erythromycin / Q000031:analogs & derivatives* / Q000633:toxicity; D006633:Histamine Antagonists / Q000633:toxicity*; D016019:Survival Analysis; D036401:Toxicity Tests, Chronic; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity
D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D006633:Histamine Antagonists; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D004917:Erythromycin; D004155:Diphenhydramine; C025000:erythromycin thiocyanate