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. 2023 Aug 4;9(9):e18855.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2023.e18855. eCollection 2023 Sep.

Influence of different concentrations of plasticizer diethyl phthalate (DEP) on toxicity of Lactuca sativa seeds, Artemia salina and Zebrafish

Maria Carolina de Almeida  1 , Michele Resende Machado  2 , Gessyca Gonçalves Costa  2 , Gisele Augusto Rodrigues de Oliveira  2 , Hugo Freire Nunes  3 , Danillo Fabrini Maciel Costa Veloso  4 , Taís Aragão Ishizawa  5 , Julião Pereira  5 , Tatianne Ferreira de Oliveira  5
Affiliations

Influence of different concentrations of plasticizer diethyl phthalate (DEP) on toxicity of Lactuca sativa seeds, Artemia salina and Zebrafish

Maria Carolina de Almeida et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Like other phthalates, diethyl phthalate (DEP) is considered as a contaminant of emerging concern (CEC) due to its ease in migrating from a package to water and food, and hence contaminate consumers, being metabolized and excreted in the urine. Its presence has a negative impact on aquatic ecosystems, especially with respect to disruption of the endocrine system and to reproductive disorders in humans. It mainly enters water bodies via sewage effluents from effluent treatment plants, due to its incomplete or inefficient removal. The objective of this work was to evaluate the toxicity of DEP at different trophic levels and to analyze data on the incidence and concentration of DEP according to its solubility. The concentrations ranged from 12.5 mg L-1 to 500 mg L-1 considering the response for toxicity at each trophic level and to determine the lethal concentration in 50% of the following organisms (LC50) (in mg L-1): Lactuca sativa seeds, Artemia salina Leach nauplii and Zebrafish embryo larval stage (Danio rerio), being 41,057.58 after 120 h; 401.77 after 48 h; and 470 after 96 h of exposure, respectively. As expected, higher organisms were more affected even at low concentrations, which shows the anthropological contribution of CECs to water bodies.

Keywords: CECs; DEP; Flexible food packaging; Plasticizers; Toxicity; Water environment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Image 1
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Growth index induced by Diethyl phthalate in Lactuca sativa seeds after 120 h of exposure at 22 ± 2 °C with no photoperiod.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Mortality induced by toxicity of Diethyl phthalate for Artemia salina nauplii after 48 h of exposure.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Diethyl phthalate-induced mortality rate on Zebrafish embryos and larvae during 96h of exposure.
Fig. 4
Fig. 4
Hatching rate of Zebrafish embryos exposed to Diethyl phthalate in the period of 72 and 96 h of exposure. At concentrations of 100 and 200 mg L−1, there was lethality (#) of the embryos before the period of 72 and 96 h.
Fig. 5
Fig. 5
Embryonic changes caused by Diethyl phthalate during 96 h of exposure.
Fig. 6
Fig. 6
Mean length of Zebrafish larvae exposed to Diethyl phthalate after 96 h of exposure.
Fig. 7
Fig. 7
Mean heart rate of Zebrafish embryos exposed to Diethyl phthalate in 48 h.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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