The effects of human drugs in Corbicula fluminea. Assessment of neurotoxicity, inflammation, gametogenic activity, and energy status

Abstract The constant release of pharmaceuticals products to aquatic environment even at low concentrations (ng L −1 to µg L −1 ) could lead to unknown chronic effects to non-target organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate neurotoxic responses, inflammation, gametogenic activity and energy status on the fresh water clam C. fluminea after exposure to different concentrations of caffeine (CAF), ibuprofen (IBU), carbamazepine (CBZ), novobiocin (NOV) and tamoxifen (TMX) for 21 days under laboratory conditions. During the assay, water was spiked every two days with CAF (0; 0.1; 5; 15; 50 µg L −1 ), IBU (0; 0.1; 5; 10; 50 µg L −1 ), CBZ, NOV, and TMX (0.1, 1, 10, 50 µg L −1 ). After the exposure period, dopamine levels (DOP), monoamine oxidase activity (MAO), arachidonic acid cyclooxygenase activity (COX), vitellogenin-like proteins (VTG), mitochondrial electron transport (MET), total lipids (TLP), and energy expenditure (MET/TLP) were determined in gonad tissues, and acetyl cholinesterase activity (AChE) was determined in digestive gland tissues. Results showed a concentration-dependence response on biomarkers tested, except for MAO. Environmental concentrations of pharmaceuticals induced significant changes (p C. fluminea constituted a suitable tool for environmental risk assessment of pharmaceutical in aquatic environment.