Captopril's influence on Danio rerio embryonic development: Unveiling significant toxic outcomes at environmentally relevant concentrations.

Anticipating a global increase in cardiovascular diseases, there is an expected surge in the use of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, notably captopril (CAP). This heightened usage raises significant environmental apprehensions, mainly due to limited knowledge regarding CAP's toxic effects on aquatic species. In response to these concerns, the current study aimed to tackle this knowledge gap by evaluating the potential influence of nominal concentrations of CAP (0.2-2000 µg/L) on the embryonic development of Danio rerio. The findings revealed that CAP at all concentrations, even at concentrations considered environmentally significant (0.2 and 2 µg/L), induced various malformations in the embryos, ultimately leading to their mortality. Main malformations included pericardial edema, craniofacial malformation, scoliosis, tail deformation, and yolk sac deformation. In addition, CAP significantly altered the antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase and catalase across all concentrations. Simultaneously, it elevated lipid peroxidation levels, hydroperoxides, and carbonylic proteins in the embryos, eliciting a substantial oxidative stress response. Likewise, CAP, at all concentrations, exerted significant modulatory effects on the expression of genes associated with apoptosis (bax, bcl2, p53, and casp3), organogenesis (tbx2a, tbx2b, and irx3b), and ion exchange (slc12a1 and kcnj1) in Danio rerio embryos. Both augmentation and reduction in the expression levels of these genes characterized this modulation. The Pearson correlation analysis indicated a close association between oxidative damage biomarkers and the expression patterns of all examined genes with the elevated incidence of malformations and mortality in the embryos. In summary, it can be deduced that CAP poses a threat to aquatic species. Nevertheless, further research is imperative to enhance our understanding of the environmental implications of this pharmaceutical compound.

Ecotoxicological evaluation of chitosan biopolymer films particles in adult zebrafish (Danio rerio): A comparative study with polystyrene microplastics.

To mitigate the environmental impact of microplastics (MPs), the scientific community has innovated sustainable and biodegradable polymers as viable alternatives to traditional plastics. Chitosan, the deacetylated form of chitin, stands as one of the most thoroughly investigated biopolymers and has garnered significant interest due to its versatile applications in both medical and cosmetic fields. Nevertheless, there is still a knowledge gap regarding the impact that chitosan biopolymer films (CBPF) may generate in aquatic organisms. In light of the foregoing, this study aimed to assess and compare the potential effects of CBPF on the gastrointestinal tract, gills, brain, and liver of Danio rerio against those induced by MPs. The findings revealed that both CBPF and MPs induced changes in the levels of oxidative stress biomarkers across all organs. However, it is essential to note that our star plots illustrate a tendency for CBPF to activate antioxidant enzymes and for MPs to produce oxidative damage. Regarding gene expression, our findings indicate that MPs led to an up-regulation in the expression of genes associated with apoptotic response (p53, casp3, cas9, bax, and bcl2) in all fish organs. Meanwhile, CBPF produced the same effect in genes related to antioxidant response (nrf1 and nrf2). Overall, our histological observations substantiated these effects, revealing the presence of plastic particles and tissue alterations in the gills and gastrointestinal tract of fish subjected to MPs. From these results, it can be concluded that CBPF does not represent a risk to fish after long exposure.

Assessing the impact of COVID-19 era drug combinations on hepatic functionality: A thorough investigation in adult Danio rerio.

Current and thorough information on the ecotoxicological consequences of pharmaceuticals is accessible globally. However, there remains a substantial gap in knowledge concerning the potentially toxic effects of COVID-19 used drugs, individually and combined, on aquatic organisms. Given the factors above, our investigation assumes pivotal importance in elucidating whether or not paracetamol, dexamethasone, metformin, and their tertiary mixtures might prompt histological impairment, oxidative stress, and apoptosis in the liver of zebrafish. The findings indicated that all treatments, except paracetamol, augmented the antioxidant activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAD), along with elevating the levels of oxidative biomarkers such as lipid peroxidation (LPX), hydroperoxides (HPC), and protein carbonyl content (PCC). Paracetamol prompted a reduction in the activities SOD and CAT and exhibited the most pronounced toxic response when compared to the other treatments. The gene expression patterns paralleled those of oxidative stress, with all treatments demonstrating overexpression of bax, bcl2, and p53. The above suggested a probable apoptotic response in the liver of the fish. Nevertheless, our histological examinations revealed that none of the treatments induced an apoptotic or inflammatory response in the hepatocytes. Instead, the observed tissue alterations encompassed leukocyte infiltration, sinusoidal dilatation, pyknosis, fatty degeneration, diffuse congestion, and vacuolization. In summary, the hepatic toxicity elicited by COVID-19 drugs in zebrafish was less pronounced than anticipated. This attenuation could be attributed to metformin's antioxidant and hormetic effects.

Health impact assessment after Danio rerio long-term exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of metformin and guanylurea.

The antidiabetic drug metformin (MET) and its metabolite guanylurea (GUA) have been frequently and ubiquitously detected in surface water. Consequently, there has been a consistent rise in studying the toxicity of MET and GUA in fish over the past decade. Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that no study has assessed the harmful effects both compounds might trigger on fish blood and organs after chronic exposure. Taking into consideration the data above, our research strived to accomplish two primary objectives: Firstly, to assess the effect of comparable concentrations of MET and GUA (1, 40, 100 µg/L) on the liver, gills, gut, and brain of Danio rerio after six months of flow-through exposure. Secondly, to compare the outcomes to identify which compound prompts more significant oxidative stress and apoptosis in organs and blood parameter alterations. Herein, findings indicate that both compounds induced oxidative damage and increased the expression of genes associated with apoptosis (bax, bcl2, p53, and casp3). Chronic exposure to MET and GUA also generated fluctuations in glucose, creatinine, phosphorus, liver enzymes, red and white blood count, hemoglobin, and hematocrit levels. The observed biochemical changes indicate that MET and GUA are responsible for inducing hepatic damage in fish, whereas hematological alterations suggest that both compounds cause anemia. Considering GUA altered to a more considerable extent the values of all endpoints compared to the control group, it is suggested transformation product GUA is more toxic than MET. Moreover, based on the above evidence, it can be inferred that a six-month exposure to MET and GUA can impair REDOX status and generate apoptosis in fish, adversely affecting their essential organs' functioning.

Acute exposure to realistic concentrations of Bisphenol-A trigger health damage in fish: Blood parameters, gene expression, oxidative stress.

Despite much information regarding BPA toxicity in fish and other aquatic organisms, data is still misleading as most studies have utilized concentrations several orders of magnitude higher than those typically found in the environment. As an illustration, eight of the ten studies investigating the impact of BPA on the biochemical and hematological parameters of fish have employed concentrations on the order of mg/L. Therefore, the results may not accurately represent the effects observed in the natural environment. Considering the information above, our study aimed to 1) determine whether or not realistic concentrations of BPA might alter the biochemical and blood parameters of Danio rerio and trigger an inflammatory response in the fish liver, brain, gills, and gut and 2) determine which organ could be more affected after exposure to this chemical. Findings pinpoint that realistic concentrations of BPA prompted a substantial increase in antioxidant and oxidant biomarkers in fish, triggering an oxidative stress response in all organs. Likewise, the expression of different genes related to inflammation and apoptosis response was significantly augmented in all organs. Our Pearson correlation shows gene expression was closely associated with the oxidative stress response. Regarding blood parameters, acute exposure to BPA generated biochemical and hematological parameters increased concentration-dependent. Thus, it can be concluded that BPA, at environmentally relevant concentrations, threatens aquatic species, as it prompts polychromasia and liver dysfunction in fish after acute exposure.

Optimization of the Physical, Optical and Mechanical Properties of Composite Edible Films of Gelatin, Whey Protein and Chitosan.

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effect of the concentration of gelatin (G) (3-6 g), whey protein (W) (2.5-7.5 g) and chitosan (C) (0.5-2.5 g) on the physical, optical and mechanical properties of composite edible films (CEFs) using the response surface methodology (RSM), as well as optimizing the formulation for the packaging of foods. The results of the study were evaluated via first- and second-order multiple regression analysis to obtain the determination coefficient values with a good fit (R ˃ 0.90) for each of the response variables, except for the values of solubility and b*. The individual linear effect of the independent variables (the concentrations of gelatin, whey protein and chitosan) significantly affected (p ≤ 0.05) the water vapor permeability (WVP), strength and solubility of the edible films. The WVP of the edible films varied from 0.90 to 1.62 × 10-11 g.m/Pa.s.m2, the resistance to traction varied from 0.47 MPa to 3.03 MPa and the solubility varied from 51.06% to 87%. The optimized values indicated that the CEF prepared with a quantity of 4 g, 5 g and 3 g of gelatin, whey protein and chitosan, respectively, provided the CEF with a smooth, continuous and transparent surface, with L values that resulted in a light-yellow hue, a lower WVP, a maximum strength (resistance to traction) and a lower solubility. The results revealed that the optimized formulation of the CEF of G-W-C allowed a good validation of the prediction model and could be applied, in an effective manner, to the food packaging industry, which could help in mitigating the environmental issues associated with synthetic packaging materials.