Presence of diclofenac, estradiol, and ethinylestradiol in Manzanares River (Spain) and their toxicity to zebrafish embryo development

• Published in: Environmental science and pollution research international Vol. 28; no. 36; pp. 49921 - 49935
• Main Authors: García-Cambero, Jesús Pablo, Corpa, Cristina, Lucena, Miguel Angel, Méndez, Paloma, Sierra, Pilar, Galán-Madruga, David, Aguayo, Sonia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.09.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: 17β-Estradiol; Animals; Aquatic Pollution; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bradycardia; Danio rerio; Diclofenac; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecotoxicology; Embryonic Development; Embryos; Environment; Environmental Chemistry; Environmental Health; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Estradiol - analysis; Ethinyl Estradiol - analysis; Ethinyl Estradiol - toxicity; Ethinylestradiol; Lethal effects; Locomotion; Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs; Pollutants; Research Article; Rivers; Sediments; Sex hormones; Spain; Sublethal effects; Surface water; Toxicity; Vertebrates; Waste Water Technology; Water Management; Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis; Water Pollutants, Chemical - toxicity; Water Pollution Control; Zebrafish; Spain; 17-α-ethinylestradiol; 17-β-estradiol; Manzanares River; Zebrafish embryo; Surface water; Diclofenac
• ISSN: 0944-1344; 1614-7499
• DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-14167-z

Diclofenac (DCF), 17-β-estradiol (E2), and 17-α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) are emerging pollutants included in the first watch list agreed by European countries and set in the EU Water Directive. The objective of the present study was the analytical monitoring of DCF, E2, and EE2 in surface water and sediment of the Manzanares River in a stretch that crosses the city of Madrid, Spain, and to assess whether such environmental levels could affect the development of aquatic vertebrates through a zebrafish embryo-larval assay. Samples taken during two campaigns in the spring of 2015 were analyzed for DCF, E2, and EE2 by LC-MS or GC-MS. The levels of E2 and EE2 measured in surface water and sediments of the Manzanares were within the ranges reported in other Spanish and European studies; however, DCF levels were higher in the present study. The zebrafish embryos exposed to the Manzanares River water (0–144h) showed lethal effects and sublethal effects (developmental delay, bradycardia, and reduced locomotion). Nevertheless, these effects were not primarily associated with the levels of DCF, E2, and EE2 present in the Manzanares River, because representative mixtures of the field study prepared in the laboratory did not exhibit such toxicity to the zebrafish embryos. Graphical abstract