title: Acute toxicological effects on the earthworm Eisenia fetida of 18 common pharmaceuticals in artificial soil.
abstract: Following soil applications of recycled water and biosolids, pharmaceutical residues can eventually enter the terrestrial environment. In vitro and in vivo assays have largely focused on the acute ecotoxicity of these compounds in aquatic systems. However, studies on the ecotoxicological effects of pharmaceuticals in soil biota are especially scarce. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute toxicity of 18 pharmaceuticals (4 NSAIDs, 5 blood lipid-lowering agents, 6 β-blockers and 3 antibiotics) that are usually found in the environment by using an Eisenia fetida bioassay. In addition, the presence of these pharmaceuticals in artificial soil was verified at the end of the test. Our results indicate that seven of the studied drugs cause acute adverse effects in E. fetida, in particular, the NSAIDs and the blood lipid-lowering agents. Ibuprofen (LC50=64.80 mg/kg) caused the highest acute toxicity for all tested compounds, followed by diclofenac (LC50=90.49 mg/kg) and simvastatin (LC50=92.70 mg/kg). Other tested pharmaceuticals from NSAIDs and blood lipid-lowering families have toxicity effects, from a LC50=140.87 mg/kg for gemfibrozil to 795.07 mg/kg for lovastatin. Atorvastatin, bezafibrate, β-blockers and antibiotics showed no detectable lethality in E. fetida. The four NSAIDs showed evidence of modification of their original chemical structure after 14 days so the detected toxicity may be due to the original product as well as their degradation products. The three blood lipid-lowering agents seem to be more stable in soil. From an environmental perspective, the lethal concentrations of the tested drugs are much greater than those reported in wastewater and biosolids, therefore acute toxic effects may be improbable. However, little is known about the accumulation of these substances in soils after regular applications, so accumulative and chronic effects cannot be excluded. Moreover, more studies are needed to determine the role of the degradation products of these pharmaceuticals on terrestrial toxicity.
authors.affiliation: Universidad San Jorge, Instituto de Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, GIMACÉS, Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza 50830, Spain. Electronic address: rpino@usj.es.
authors.forename: Ma Rosa
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Pino
authors.affiliation: Universidad San Jorge, Instituto de Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, GIMACÉS, Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza 50830, Spain. Electronic address: jval@usj.es.
authors.forename: Jonatan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Val
authors.affiliation: Universidad de Zaragoza, Instituto de Investigación en Ingeniería de Aragón (I3A), GATHERS, Calle Mariano Esquillor, s/n, Edificio de Institutos, I3A, Bloque 5, 2.ª planta, 20018 Zaragoza, Spain. Electronic address: ammainar@unizar.es.
authors.forename: Ana Ma
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Mainar
authors.affiliation: Universidad San Jorge, Instituto de Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, GIMACÉS, Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza 50830, Spain. Electronic address: ezuriaga@usj.es.
authors.forename: Estefanía
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Zuriaga
authors.affiliation: Universidad San Jorge, Instituto de Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, GIMACÉS, Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza 50830, Spain. Electronic address: cespanol@usj.es.
authors.forename: Cecilia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Español
authors.affiliation: Universidad San Jorge, Instituto de Medio Ambiente, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, GIMACÉS, Villanueva de Gállego, Zaragoza 50830, Spain. Electronic address: elanga@usj.es.
authors.forename: Elisa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Langa
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D009835:Oligochaeta; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000737:chemistry*; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry*; D012989:Soil Pollutants / Q000633:toxicity*; D023382:Toxicity Tests, Acute
chemical_list: D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012987:Soil; D012989:Soil Pollutants
keywords: Antibiotic; Blood lipid-lowering agent; Earthworm; NSAID; Soil; β-Blocker