The term "biologically active compounds" covers a wide range of substances originating from natural or synthetic origins. These compounds can enter the aquatic environment through wastewater treatment plants, manufactural discharge or they are naturally present in the aquatic plants or microorganisms. Their adverse effects on fish has been widely studied and accepted. This thesis is focussed on the adverse effect of several bioactive compounds (i.e. pharmaceuticals, phytochemicals, or complex mixture of pollutants) on fish using different experimental design as in vitro, in vivo and in situ. In the first part of this thesis, in vitro effects of pharmaceuticals and phytochemicals or their combinations on fish CYP system were investigated. Moreover, effects of standard carrier solvents used in enzyme activity assays were also investigated. An important finding in this study was the lack of effects of either dexamethasone, quercetin, or indole-3-carbinol on EROD activity; however, when these agents were combined, EROD activity was strongly inhibited. This demonstrates that combination of compounds might exert different effects than single compounds, and the effects of mixture compounds cannot be predicted from the effects of individual compounds. In the second part of the thesis, the effects of chronic exposures of rainbow trout to dexamethasone and clotrimazole were investigated. The results regarding dexamethasone showed similarities with in vitro studies, and both in vitro and in vivo exposure of dexamethasone did not alter the CYP enzyme activities. On the other hand, in vivo exposure of clotrimazole yielded conflicting results with findings from the in vitro studies. Clotrimazole induced EROD activity in chronically exposed rainbow trout, and BFCOD activity showed biphasic pattern in which it was inhibited at environmentally relevant concentrations and induced at high concentrations. Thus, the observed effects suggest that clotrimazole could negatively affect fish CYPs at environmentally relevant concentrations. However, in the environment, the effects of clotrimazole and dexamethasone on fish CYPs system might be modified because of unknown compounds in these mixtures. Therefore, further investigations were done to identify the effects of mixture compounds using an in situ model. The last part of the dissertation addresses the effects of cocktail PPCPs on common carp under natural conditions. In situ studies provide valuable information on both hepatic and intestinal CYP activities. Both EROD and BFCOD activities were affected by the PPCPs that are present in the exposed fish. Moreover, changes in intestinal CYP activities suggest that fish can ingest some of these contaminants through their feed. Therefore, the intestines might be responsible for elimination of some of these pollutants and act as the first barrier of pollutant entry in fish. Despite the extensive studies concerning aquatic pollution, further studies are necessary. Development of new pharmaceuticals, their occurrence in the aquatic environment, and their effects on non-target organisms should be continuously monitored.
Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:386582 |
Date | January 2018 |
Creators | SAKALLI, Sidika |
Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
Language | English |
Detected Language | English |
Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis |
Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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