Effects of 25 pharmaceutical compounds to Lemna gibba using a seven-day static-renewal test

Antibiotics are known to have antichloroplastic properties, but their effects on aquatic higher plants are virtually unknown. In order to address this issue, 25 pharmaceuticals, including 22 antibiotics, were assessed for phytotoxicity to the aquatic higher plant Lemna gibba. A 7-d static-renewal test was used, and plants were treated with 0, 10, 30, 100, 300, and 1,000 microg/L of pharmaceutical-containing growth media. Phytotoxicity was assessed using multiple growth and biochemical endpoints. Effective concentration (EC)50, EC25, and EC10 values as well as tests for significant differences between treatments and controls lowest-observed-effect concentration (LOECs) were calculated for each endpoint. Twelve different classes of antibiotics were assessed; however, only members of the fluoroquinolone, sulfonamide, and tetracycline classes of antibiotics displayed significant phytotoxicity. The most toxic members of each of these classes tested were lomefloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, and chlortetracycline, with wet weight EC25 values of 38, 37, and 114 microg/L, respectively. Injury symptoms were comparatively uniform and consistent among chemical classes while degree of phytotoxicity varied considerably. Both of these criteria varied markedly between classes. Wet mass was consistently the most sensitive endpoint above 100 microg/L; conversely, frond number was the most sensitive below 100 microg/L. Pigment endpoints were significantly less sensitive than growth endpoints.