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Badraoui R, Mannai G, Siddiqui AJ, Pacioglu O, Rudayni HA, Boufahja F, Essid N. How toxic is the COVID-19 drug azithromycin in the presence of Posidonia oceanica? Toxicokinetics and experimental approach of meiobenthic nematodes from a metallically pristine area. Environ Pollut 2023; 319:121007. [PMID: 36608722 PMCID: PMC9808061 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.121007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 01/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
The current study presents the results of an experiment carried to assess the impact of azithromycin, a COVID-19 drug, probably accumulated in marine sediments for three years, since the start of the pandemic, on benthic marine nematodes. It was explored the extent to which a common macrophyte from the Mediterranean Sea influenced the toxic impact of azithromycin on meiobenthic nematodes. Metals are known to influence toxicity of azithromycin. The nematofauna from a metallically pristine site situated in Bizerte bay, Tunisia, was exposed to two concentrations of azithromycin [i.e. 5 and 10 μg l-1]. In addition, two masses of the common macrophyte Posidonia oceanica [10 and 20% Dry Weight (DW)] were considered and associated with azithromycin into four possible combinations. The abundance and the taxonomic diversity of the nematode communities decreased significantly following the exposure to azithromycin, which was confirmed by the toxicokinetic data and behaving as substrate for P-glycoprotein (P-gp). The toxicity of 5 μg l-1 dosage of azithromycin was partially reduced at 10% DW of Posidonia and completely at 20% DW. The results showed that 5 μg l-1 of azithromycin can be reduced by the macrophyte P. oceanica when present in the environment at low masses as 10% DW.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riadh Badraoui
- Department of Biology, Laboratory of General Biology, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, 81451, Saudi Arabia; Section of Histology-Cytology, Medicine Faculty of Tunis, University of Tunis El Manar, La Rabta-Tunis, 1007, Tunisia
| | - Ghofrane Mannai
- University of Carthage, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Laboratory of Environment Biomonitoring, Coastal Ecology and Ecotoxicology Unit, 7021, Zarzouna, Tunisia
| | - Arif J Siddiqui
- Department of Biology, Laboratory of General Biology, University of Ha'il, Ha'il, 81451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Octavian Pacioglu
- National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, Bucharest, Romania
| | - Hassan A Rudayni
- Biology Department, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia
| | - Fehmi Boufahja
- Biology Department, College of Science, Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, 11623, Saudi Arabia.
| | - Naceur Essid
- University of Carthage, Faculty of Sciences of Bizerte, Laboratory of Environment Biomonitoring, Coastal Ecology and Ecotoxicology Unit, 7021, Zarzouna, Tunisia
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