TY - JOUR

T1 - Evaluation of the toxic effects of four anti-cancer drugs in plant bioassays and its potency for screening in the context of waste water reuse for irrigation

AU - Lutterbeck, Carlos Alexandre

AU - Kern, Deivid Ismael

AU - Machado, Ênio Leandro

AU - Kümmerer, Klaus

N1 - Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

PY - 2015/9/1

Y1 - 2015/9/1

N2 - Anti-cancer drugs are compounds that are of high environmental relevance because of their lack of specific mode of action. They can be extremely harmful to living organisms even at low concentrations. The present study evaluated the toxic effects of four frequently used anti-cancer drugs against plant seedlings, namely Cyclophosphamide (CP), Methotrexate (MTX), 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Imatinib (IM). The phytotoxicity experiments were performed with Lactuca sativa seedlings whereas cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity investigations were performed with the well-established Allium cepa assays. MTX was the most phytotoxic compound, followed by 5-FU, CP and IM. Significant differences in the Mitotic Indexes (MI) were observed in three of the studied compounds (MTX, 5-FU and CP), indicating potential cytotoxic activity of these substances. Chromosome aberrations were registered in cells that were exposed to 5-FU, CP and IM. All the four compounds caused the formation of micronucleated cells indicating mutagenic potential. Besides, the assays performed with MTX samples presented a high number of cell apoptosis (cell death). Although it is unlikely that the pharmaceuticals concentrations measured in the environment could cause lethal effects in plants, the obtained results indicate that these compounds may affect the growth and normal development of these plants. So, both tests can constitute important tools for a fast screening of environmental contamination e.g. in the context of the reuse of treated wastewater and biosolids of agricultural purpose.

AB - Anti-cancer drugs are compounds that are of high environmental relevance because of their lack of specific mode of action. They can be extremely harmful to living organisms even at low concentrations. The present study evaluated the toxic effects of four frequently used anti-cancer drugs against plant seedlings, namely Cyclophosphamide (CP), Methotrexate (MTX), 5-Fluorouracil (5-FU) and Imatinib (IM). The phytotoxicity experiments were performed with Lactuca sativa seedlings whereas cytotoxicity, genotoxicity and mutagenicity investigations were performed with the well-established Allium cepa assays. MTX was the most phytotoxic compound, followed by 5-FU, CP and IM. Significant differences in the Mitotic Indexes (MI) were observed in three of the studied compounds (MTX, 5-FU and CP), indicating potential cytotoxic activity of these substances. Chromosome aberrations were registered in cells that were exposed to 5-FU, CP and IM. All the four compounds caused the formation of micronucleated cells indicating mutagenic potential. Besides, the assays performed with MTX samples presented a high number of cell apoptosis (cell death). Although it is unlikely that the pharmaceuticals concentrations measured in the environment could cause lethal effects in plants, the obtained results indicate that these compounds may affect the growth and normal development of these plants. So, both tests can constitute important tools for a fast screening of environmental contamination e.g. in the context of the reuse of treated wastewater and biosolids of agricultural purpose.

KW - Anti-cancer drugs

KW - Cytotoxicity

KW - Genotoxicity

KW - Mutagenicity

KW - Phytotoxicity

KW - Chemistry

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84930464824&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.05.019

DO - 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2015.05.019

M3 - Journal articles

C2 - 26002047

AN - SCOPUS:84930464824

VL - 135

SP - 403

EP - 410

JO - Chemosphere

JF - Chemosphere

SN - 0045-6535

ER -