Toxic potential of paracetamol to freshwater organisms: A headache to environmental regulators?

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

Bruno Nunes (Author) Other; Sara C Antunes (Author) FCUP; Joana Santos (Author) Other; Liliana Martins (Author) Other; Bruno B Castro (Author) Other

Journal

Title: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Vol. 107

Pages: 178-185

ISSN: 0147-6513

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 95 Citations

Scopus - 104 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Medical and Health sciences > Basic medicine

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-009-JMN

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.05.027

Abstract (EN): Paracetamol is one of the most prescribed drugs globally, due to its antipyretic and analgesic properties. However, it is highly toxic at elevated doses, with involvement of an already described oxidative stress pathway. Despite this, the number of ecotoxicological studies on potential effects of paracetamol in wild organisms is still scarce. The present article presents a comprehensive series of standardized assays for the assessment of paracetamol effects in freshwater organisms. The results show that paracetamol toxicity is widely variable among species, even when these species are phylogenetically related. Furthermore, comparisons between data from the literature and our results reinforce this conclusion, providing evidence of the inadequacy of standardized toxicity testing guidelines for pharmaceutical compounds in wild organisms. Paracetamol toxicity can be modulated by unpredictable physiological conditions that might compromise extrapolations and comparisons of responsiveness among species. The ecological relevance of data obtained from classical tests for this compound is further discussed.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 8