Toxicity produced by an industrial effluent from mexico on the common carp (Cyprinus carpio)

Pharmaceuticals are a set of chemical substances used in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of various diseases. The pharmaceutical industry generates large volumes of wastewater which vary as to characteristics and concentration; these effluents originate mainly as a result of production process and the cleaning of machinery and may contain organic solvents, catalysts, additants, reactants, intermediates, raw materials, and active pharmaceutical ingredients. Pharmaceutical industry emissions are well regulated in general but not in developing countries. Diverse studies have reported on the effects induced by pharmaceuticals on aquatic organisms. The use of cosmopolitan organisms to evaluate contamination has seen a remarkable development in recent years. Cyprinus carpio is used as a bioindicator species, since the cyprinids are quantitatively the most important group of teleost fishes cultured throughout the world for commercial purposes and are also very resistant organisms and easy to maintain. The present study aimed to evaluate the damage induced by an industrial effluent on common carp (Cyprinus carpio). Carp were exposed to the lowest observed adverse effect level (LOAEL, 0.1173%) for 12, 24, 48, 72, and 96 h, and biomarkers of oxidative stress (oxidative damage and activity of antioxidant enzymes), genotoxicity (comet assay and micronucleus test), and cytotoxicity (caspase-3 activity and TUNEL assay) were evaluated. Significant increases with respect to the control group (P < 0.05) were observed in oxidative stress and geno-and cytotoxicity biomarkers in C. carpio.