title: Ecotoxicological evaluation of caffeine and its derivatives from a simulated chlorination step.
abstract: Caffeine is ubiquitous in surface and ground waters and it has been proposed as a marker of the anthropogenic pressure on the environment. Sewage treatment plants based on active sludges seem to be not very efficient in its complete removal from effluents while additional disinfection treatments by chlorination are able to do it. In a simulation of the chlorination step herein we report that caffeine is transformed in six by-products: 8-chlorocaffeine, 1,3-dimethyl-5-azabarbituric acid, N,N'-dimethylparabanic acid, N,N'-dimethyloxalamide, N-methylurea and N,N'-dimethylurea. The ecotoxicity of caffeine and identified compounds was evaluated on the rotifer Brachionus calyciflorus and the alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata to assess acute and chronic toxicity, while SOS Chromotest and Ames Test were used to detect the genotoxic potential of the investigated compounds. Moreover, we assessed the possible antigenotoxic effect of the selected compounds using SOS Chromotest after co-incubation with the standard genotoxin, 4-nitroquinoline 1-oxide. Chronic exposure to these compounds caused inhibition of growth population on the rotifer while the algae seemed to be unaffected. Results indicated that caffeine (1), N,N'-dimethyloxamide (4) and N,N'-dimethylparabanic acid (5) reduced β-galactosidase activity in comparison with positive control, both at 1 and 5mg/L of 4-NQNO with a good dose-response.
authors.affiliation: Udr Napoli 4 Consortium INCA, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Federico II di Napoli, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy. Electronic address: zarrelli@unina.it.
authors.forename: Armando
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarrelli
authors.affiliation: Udr Napoli 4 Consortium INCA, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Federico II di Napoli, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dellagreca
authors.affiliation: Udr Napoli 4 Consortium INCA, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Federico II di Napoli, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria Rosaria
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Iesce
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Margherita
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lavorgna
authors.affiliation: Udr Napoli 4 Consortium INCA, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Federico II di Napoli, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Temussi
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Schiavone
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Criscuolo
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Alfredo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Parrella
authors.affiliation: Udr Napoli 4 Consortium INCA, Dipartimento di Scienze Chimiche, Università Federico II di Napoli, Via Cintia 4, I-80126 Naples, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Previtera
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Ambientali, Biologiche e Farmaceutiche, Seconda Università di Napoli, Via Vivaldi 43, I-81100 Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Isidori
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002110:Caffeine / Q000633:toxicity*; D000460:Chlorophyta; D054750:Ecotoxicology; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012403:Rotifera; D018675:Toxicity Tests; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical; D002110:Caffeine
keywords: Acute and chronic toxicity; Caffeine; Chlorination; Chlorine derivatives; Disinfection treatments; Genotoxicity