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Dear Colleagues,

Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) are a diverse group of chemicals that have received comparatively little attention as potential environmental pollutants. PPCPs comprise all the drugs that are primarily used to prevent or treat human and animal disease, diagnostic agents, “nutraceuticals”, and personal care products used to improve the quality of human daily life. After their use, PPCPs are generally excreted as parental compound and/or metabolites and unwittingly enter the sewerage system. Since the traditional wastewater treatment plants have a limited removal efficiency for most of these molecules, a wide spectrum of PPCPs enters surface waters. Although concentrations in natural aquatic ecosystems are generally low, PPCPs are biologically active compounds that could be potentially dangerous to aquatic non-target organisms. On that basis, even if concerns have been raised about the broad range of adverse effects caused by PPCPs exposure diverse aquatic species, which could differ between and among each class of therapeutics, and a considerable amount of work has been done, the knowledge regarding this topic remains still scant but worthy of being implemented.

In this Special Issue, authors are invited to submit original manuscripts, reviews and/or short communications highlighting the potential toxicity of PPCPs, focusing on the wide variety of adverse effects induced by the exposure to these emerging aquatic pollutants in both marine and freshwater species.

Dr. Marco Parolini
Guest Editor

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Toxics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

pharmaceuticals
personal care products
aquatic organisms
exposure
toxicity
adverse effects

Published Papers (2 papers)

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390 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Vitis vinifera Extract Ameliorate Hepatic and Renal Dysfunction Induced by Dexamethasone in Albino Rats

by Nabil A. Hasona, Ahmed A. Alrashidi, Thamer Z. Aldugieman, Ali M. Alshdokhi and Mohammed Q. Ahmed

Toxics 2017, 5(2), 11; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxics5020011 - 11 Apr 2017

Cited by 22 | Viewed by 5042

Abstract

This study was conducted to evaluate the biochemical effects of grape seed extract against dexamethasone-induced hepatic and renal dysfunction in a female albino rat. Twenty-eight adult female rats were divided randomly into four equal groups: Group 1: animals were injected subcutaneously with saline and consider as normal control one. Group 2: animals were injected subcutaneously with dexamethasone in a dose of 0.1 mg/kg body weight. Group 3: animals were injected subcutaneously with 0.1 mg/kg body weight of dexamethasone, and then treated with a grape seed extract in a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight by oral gavage. Group 4: animals were injected subcutaneously with 0.1 mg/kg body weight of dexamethasone, and then treated with a grape seed extract in a dose of 400 mg/kg body weight by oral gavage. After 4 weeks, serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, albumin, uric acid, creatinine, and glucose levels were assayed. Hepatic reduced glutathione (GSH), total protein content, and catalase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activities were also assayed. Dexamethasone administration caused elevation of serum levels of glucose, uric acid, creatinine, ALT, AST activities, and a decrease in other parameters such as hepatic glutathione, total protein levels, and catalase enzyme activity. Treatment with Vitis vinifera L. seed extract showed a significant increase in the body weight of rats in the group treated with Vitis vinifera L. seed extract orally compared with the dexamethasone control group. An increase in GSH and catalase activity in response to oral treatment with Vitis vinifera L. seed extract was observed after treatment. Grape seed extract positively affects glucocorticoid-induced hepatic and renal alteration in albino rats. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Effects of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) on Non-Target Aquatic Organisms)

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642 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Assessing Potential Vulnerability and Response of Fish to Simulated Avian Predation after Exposure to Psychotropic Pharmaceuticals

by Melanie L. Hedgespeth, Per Anders Nilsson and Olof Berglund

Toxics 2016, 4(2), 9; https://0-doi-org.brum.beds.ac.uk/10.3390/toxics4020009 - 13 Apr 2016

Cited by 8 | Viewed by 5099

Abstract

Psychotropic pharmaceuticals present in the environment may impact organisms both directly and via interaction strengths with other organisms, including predators; therefore, this study examined the potential effects of pharmaceuticals on behavioral responses of fish to avian predators. Wild-caught juvenile perch (Perca fluviatilis) were assayed using a striking bird model after a seven-day exposure to psychotropic pharmaceuticals (the antidepressants fluoxetine or sertraline, or the β-blocker propranolol) under the hypotheses that exposure would increase vulnerability to avian predation via increasing the probability of predator encounter as well as degrading evasive behaviors upon encounter. None of the substances significantly affected swimming activity of the fish, nor did they increase vulnerability by affecting encounter probability or evasive endpoints compared to control treatments. Counter to our expectations, fish exposed to 100 μg/L fluoxetine (but no other concentrations or pharmaceuticals) were less likely to enter the open area of the arena, i.e., less likely to engage in risky behavior that could lead to predator encounters. Additionally, all fish exposed to environmentally relevant, low concentrations of sertraline (0.12 μg/L) and propranolol (0.1 μg/L) sought refuge after the simulated attack. Our unexpected results warrant further research as they have interesting implications on how these psychotropic pharmaceuticals may affect predator-prey interactions spanning the terrestrial-aquatic interface. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Toxic Effects of Pharmaceutical and Personal Care Products (PPCPs) on Non-Target Aquatic Organisms)

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