Cadmium and ketoprofen accumulation influences aquatic ecosystem demonstrated using in-vivo zebrafish model

Abstract

The growing concern about pollution and toxicity in aquatic as well as terrestrial organisms is predominantly caused due to waterborne exposure and poses a risk to environmental systems and human health. This study addresses the co-toxic effects of cadmium (Cd) and ketoprofen (KPF), representing heavy metal and pharmaceutical discharge pollutants, respectively, in aquatic ecosystems. A 96-h acute toxicity assessment was conducted using zebrafish embryos. The results indicated that high dosages of KPF (10, 15, and 100 µg/mL) and Cd (10 and 15 µg/mL) reduced survivability and caused concentration-dependent deformities such as scoliosis and yolk sac edema. These findings highlight the potential defects in development and metabolism, as evidenced by hemolysis tests demonstrating dose-dependent effects on blood cell integrity. Furthermore, this study employs adult zebrafish for a 42-day chronic exposure to Cd and KPF (10 and 100 µg/L) alone or combined (10 + 10 and 100 + 100 µg/L) to assess organ-specific Cd and KPF accumulation in tissue samples. Organ-specific accumulation patterns underscore complex interactions impacting respiratory, metabolic, and detoxification functions. Prolonged exposure induces reactive oxygen species formation, compromising antioxidant defense systems. Histological examinations reveal structural changes in gills, gastrointestinal, kidney, and liver tissues, suggesting impairments in respiratory, osmoregulatory, nutritional, and immune functions. This study emphasizes the importance of conducting extensive research on co-toxic effects to assist with environmental risk assessments and safeguard human health and aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords:

• Aquatic ecosystem
• cadmium
• ketoprofen
• environmental pollution
• toxicity

Acknowledgment

The authors gratefully acknowledge Researchers Supporting Project Number (RSP2024R414), King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Author contributions

Madesh S.: investigation, formal analysis, and original draft writing. Gokul Sudhakaran, Karthikeyan Ramamurthy, M.K. Kathiravan, Mikhlid H. Almutairi, Bader O. Almutairi, Selvaraj Arokiyaraj: methodology, resources, original draft, review and editing. Ajay Guru, Jesu Arockiaraj: conceptualization, validation, supervision, writing-review, and editing. The final version of the work was reviewed and approved by all authors.

Ethical approval

Animal studies have been carried out as per ARRIVE guidelines. The zebrafish used for the experiments were approved by the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (No./IAEC/313/2023). The experiment with human blood was done as per IEC (Approval No. 885/IEC/2015).

Consent form

All authors have given their consent to publish this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

Data will be made available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.