title: Pharmaceutical wastewater being composite mixture of environmental pollutants may be associated with mutagenicity and genotoxicity.
abstract: Pharmaceutical industries are amongst the foremost contributor to industrial waste. Ecological well-being is endangered owing to its facile discharge. In the present study, heavy metals and organic contaminants in waste water were characterized using atomic absorption spectrophotometer and GC-MS, respectively. Mutagenicity and genotoxic potential of pharmaceutical waste water were investigated through bacterial reverse mutation assay and in vitro comet assay, respectively. Ames test and comet assay of first sample were carried out at concentrations of 100, 50, 25, 12.5, 6.25 % v/v effluent with distilled water. Chromium (Cr), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and cadmium (Cd) were found in high concentrations as compared to WHO- and EPA-recommended maximum limits. Arsenic was found to be the most abundant metal and its maximum concentration was 0.8 mg.L(-1). GC-MS revealed the presence of lignocaine, digitoxin, trimethoprim, caffeine, and vitamin E in waste water. Dose-dependent decrease in mutagenic index was observed in both strains. Substantial increase in mutagenicity was observed for TA-100, when assay was done by incorporating an enzyme activation system, whereas a slight increase was detected for TA-102. In vitro comet assay of waste water exhibited decrease in damage index and percentage fragmentation with the increase in dilution of waste water. Tail length also decreased with an increase in the dilution factor of waste water. These findings suggest that pharmaceutical waste water being a mix of different heavy metals and organic contaminants may have a potent mutagenic and genotoxic effect on exposed living organisms.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan. alisharif.pharmacist@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ali
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sharif
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ashraf
authors.affiliation: Department of Microbiology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Aftab Ahmed
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Anjum
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Aqeel
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Javeed
authors.affiliation: Quality Operations Laboratory, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Imran
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Altaf
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Muhammad Furqan
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.affiliation: Quality Operations Laboratory, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Mateen
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Abbas
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmacy, Physiology and Pharmacology, University of Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Bushra
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Akhtar
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan.
authors.forename: Ammara
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Saleem
mesh_terms: D001151:Arsenic; D020552:Comet Assay; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000187:drug effects; D007220:Industrial Waste / Q000032:analysis; D019216:Metals, Heavy / Q000737:chemistry / Q000633:toxicity; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D009153:Mutagens / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry*; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000633:toxicity*
chemical_list: D001151:Arsenic; D007220:Industrial Waste; D019216:Metals, Heavy; D009153:Mutagens; D062065:Wastewater; D014874:Water Pollutants, Chemical
keywords: GC-MS; Genotoxicity; Heavy metals; Mutagenicity; Organic contaminants; Pharmaceutical industrial waste water