Procaine penicillin alters swimming behaviour and physiological parameters of Daphnia magna.

Procaine penicillin (PP) is a ß-lactam antibiotic widely used in human and veterinary medicine. Although PP is detected in surface water, little is known on its effects on aquatic invertebrates. Our aim was to determine the influence of PP on swimming behaviour (track density, swimming speed, turning angle, hopping frequency) and physiological activity (oxygen consumption, heart rate, thoracic limb movement) of a freshwater invertebrate Daphnia magna exposed to PP at concentrations of 11.79 mg/L, 117.9 mg/L and 1179 mg/L for 2 h and 24 h. The results showed no mortality; however, reduction of swimming activity manifested by the decreased track density, swimming speed and turning angle noted in Daphnia exposed to all the concentrations of PP. Increase of oxygen consumption was observed after 2-h exposure; however, decrease of this parameter was found after 24 h. PP also reduced heart rate and thoracic limb movement in a concentration-dependent manner. The results suggest that the antibiotic should not induce mortality; however, it may affect swimming behaviour and physiological parameters of Daphnia magna particularly inhabiting aquaculture facilities with intensive antibiotic treatment. On the basis of the present results, we also suggest higher sensitivity of behavioural and physiological parameters of cladocerans than the commonly used endpoints: mortality or immobilisation and their possible application as a part of early warning systems in monitoring of surface water toxicity.

Effect of perozonation on biodegradability and toxicity of a penicillin formulation effluent.

The pretreatment of synthetic penicillin formulation effluent containing Procain Penicillin G (PPG) with the O(3)/H(2)O(2) process (applied ozone dose = 1440 mg h-1 treatment time = 60 minutes; pH 7; H(2)O(2) = 10 mM) was investigated. The effect of chemical pretreatment was assessed on the basis of acute toxicity and biodegradability with activated sludge using water flea Daphnia magna toxicity and activated sludge inhibition tests. Biological treatability studies were performed with a mixture of untreated or pretreated PPG effluent (25% on volume basis) and synthetic domestic wastewater simulating readily biodegradable organic substrate to simulate the characteristics of domestic wastewater (75% on volume basis). Pretreatment of PPG effluent the O(3)/H(2)O(2) process resulted in more than 70% chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal and a 50% decrease in the acute toxicity towards Daphnia magna. On the other hand, biodegradation of untreated PPG effluent needed prolonged acclimation periods to obtain a significant biological COD removal (= 80%). Pretreatment employing the O(3)/H(2)O(2) process not only decreased the ultimate biodegradability of PPG effluent but also increased its inhibitory effects on activated sludge treatment speculatively due to the formation of less biodegradable oxidation by-products.

Biological treatability of raw and ozonated synthetic penicillin formulation effluent.

Chemical pre-treatment of synthetic Procaine Penicillin G (PPG) effluent with ozone (applied dose = 1440 mg/h; treatment duration = 60 min) at pH = 7 was investigated. Successive biological treatability studies were performed with raw, ozonated penicillin formulation effluent and synthetic readily biodegradable substrate as simulated domestic wastewater. The PPG effluent additions were adjusted to constitute approximately 30% of the total COD in the reactor. Ozonation of PPG effluent resulted in practically complete removal of the parent pollutant accompanied by 40% COD abatement. Speaking for the raw PPG effluent, prolonged acclimation periods were necessary to obtain significant COD removal efficiencies. Batch activated sludge treatment experiments and respirometric studies have demonstrated that the selection of true retention time is extremely crucial for having high amount of slowly hydrolysable substrate or complex wastewater, like pharmaceutical effluent. The effect of ozonation time on biological treatability performance of PPG has been evaluated in the study. Pre-ozonation of PPG effluent did not improve its ultimate biodegradability.

Tissue damage caused by the intramuscular injection of long-acting penicillin.

In order to elucidate whether tissue damage produced on occasion by intramuscular injection of long-acting penicillin is due to accidental intra-arterial injection or vasospasm, two types of experiments were carried out in rabbits. In the first set of experiments, six New Zealand White rabbits were given intra-arterial injections of 0.4 mL of a mixture containing 300,000 U of penicillin G benzathine and 300,000 units of penicillin procaine per milliliter (Bicillin C-R) into the left femoral artery and 0.4 mL of normal saline into the right femoral artery as autocontrol. In a second set of experiments, 0.4 mL of the same penicillin preparation was injected in the space surrounding the left femoral artery in five New Zealand rabbits, and 0.4 mL of normal saline was injected in a similar fashion around the right femoral artery as control. The legs of the rabbits that received the intra-arterial injection of penicillin invariably developed ischemic manifestations. None of the legs of rabbits given intra-arterial injections of normal saline had pathologic manifestations. None of the rabbits that received the periarterial penicillin preparation or normal saline developed abnormalities. These results strongly suggest that the tissue damage produced by penicillin is secondary to the intra-arterial administration of the drug.

[Pathogenesis of embolotoxic reactions]. / Die Pathogenese der embolo -- toxischen Reaktion.

Own investigations concerning the principal mechanisms of Hoigné's syndrome demonstrated that the phenomenology of embolotoxic reactions depends in certain pre-conditions on high pressure during a rapid injection with the result of penetration of the drug into the blood stream. The occurrence of the syndrome and its symptomatology depend on the size of the crystals or lipid droplets that enter the blood stream, on the solubility of the crystals in the body, on the toxicity of the components of a particular drug and on the volume of the injected drug that enters the blood vessels. For the reasons mentioned above the symptomatology of the syndrome is variable and depends on the type of medicament applied.

Dihydrostreptomycin toxicity in the Mongolian gerbil, Meriones unguiculatus.

A fatal syndrome of acute toxicity was produced in Mongolian gerbils following the injection of a penicillin-dihydrostreptomycin-procaine combination. The toxicity was determined to be due to the dihydrostreptomycin component. Fifty milligrams of dihydrostreptomycin produced 80-100% mortality in 55-65 g gerbils.