Effects of ibuprofen on Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) following acute and chronic waterborne exposures

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products are a growing concern in the aquatic environment. Compounds from the class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are commonly detected in surface waters and have the potential to negatively affect aquatic organisms. The purpose of this experiment was to determine the acute and chronic effects of ibuprofen on rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). Cyclooxygenase (COX) activity, vitellogenin (VTG) concentration and ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity were evaluated following waterborne ibuprofen exposure of trout to 1 and 10 mg/L in the acute exposure and 1, 32 and 1000 μg/L in the chronic exposure, along with an experimental control, E2 control of 1000 μg/L and an E2-ibuprofen mixed treatment. Ibuprofen did not inhibit COX enzyme activity in either gill or kidney tissue. To evaluate the estrogenic effects of ibuprofen, VTG concentrations were measured; by the end of the 56 day chronic exposure VTG concentrations significantly increased in all of the ibuprofen treatments relative to the controls. EROD activity may have been inhibited by ibuprofen but definitive conclusions could not be made. These findings indicate that more research needs to be done studying ibuprofen in aquatic systems.