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Acute Toxicity, Bioaccumulation, and Bioreduction of Two Antibiotics, Norfloxacin and Ofloxacin, in the Snail Bellamya aeruginosa

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Abstract

Fluoroquinolones (FQs) present in water environments pose threats to aquatic organisms. The concentration of FQs adsorbed onto sediments is generally higher than that in water. Here, we studied the toxicities of two FQ antibiotics, norfloxacin (NOR) and ofloxacin (OFL), on the snail Bellamya aeruginosa, an adaptable benthic animal. For this, we performed acute toxicity experiments on young snails and sub-chronic exposure experiments on adult snails by exposure to the FQs for 1–28 days. The 96 h median effective concentrations showed that NOR toxicity was higher than OFL toxicity, although both NOR and OFL were low-toxicity substances (EC50 > 100 mg L−1). Four concentrations were used in the sub-chronic exposure experiments. Results of the measurement of bioconcentration factors (BCF) showed that OFL accumulation was higher than NOR accumulation in snail tissues. During the depuration period (28–49 days), at low concentrations (2 and 20 μg L−1), both FQs required at least 7 days to reach the maximum residue limit (50 μg kg−1). Conversely, at high concentrations (200 and 2000 μg L−1), 14 days (NOR) and 21 days (OFL) were required. Our results could facilitate management of the environmental risks of antibiotics and conservation of aquatic animals.

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Abbreviations

ANOVA:

Analysis of variance

BCF:

Bioconcentration factor

CIP:

Ciprofloxacin

ENR:

Enrofloxacin

FQs:

Fluoroquinolones

HPLC-MS:

High-performance liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry

LSD:

Least significant difference

LOD:

Limit of detection

LOQ:

Limit of quantitation

MRL:

Maximum residue limit

EC50:

Median effective concentrations

NOR:

Norfloxacin

log K ow :

Octanol–water distribution coefficient

OFL:

Ofloxacin

SNR:

Signal-to-noise ratio

ww:

Wet weight

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Acknowledgments

We thank the Instrumental Analysis and Research Center in Sun Yat-sen University for support to S He.

Funding

This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (No. 2016YFC 0502800) and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yet-sen University, Guangzhou City, 510275, Guangdong, China

    Shuwen He, Qinyu Sun, Yu Liu, Ling Li & Xiangfei Yang

  2. Provincial Key Laboratory of Environmental Pollution Control and Remediation Technology, Guangzhou, 510006, China

    Shuwen He, Qinyu Sun, Yu Liu, Ling Li & Xiangfei Yang

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  1. Shuwen He
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  2. Qinyu Sun
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  3. Yu Liu
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Correspondence to Yu Liu.

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He, S., Sun, Q., Liu, Y. et al. Acute Toxicity, Bioaccumulation, and Bioreduction of Two Antibiotics, Norfloxacin and Ofloxacin, in the Snail Bellamya aeruginosa. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 96 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-4458-5

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