Identification of ethoxyquin and its transformation products in salmon after controlled dietary exposure via fish feed

Ethoxyquin (EQ) is an additive present in fish feed and its fate in fish should be carefully characterized due to food safety concerns regarding this compound. Therefore, the objective of this work was to identify the transformation products (TPs) of EQ in Atlantic salmon. Salmon in independent tanks were given feed containing ethoxyquin concentrations of 0.5 mg/kg, 119 mg/kg or 1173 mg/kg for 90 days. After the feeding trial, salmon fillets were extracted in acetonitrile and analyzed by liquid chromatography with traveling-wave ion mobility spectrometry coupled to high resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-TWIMS-QTOFMS). EQ was transferred from the feed to salmon fillets and 23 TPs were characterized, resulting from dimerization, oxygenation, cleavage, cleavage combined with oxygenation, cleavage combined with conjugation, and other uncategorized alterations. Moreover, EQ and some TPs were also detected in commercial salmon randomly sampled from different Norwegian fish farms. This study confirmed that the dimer 1,8′-EQDM was the main TP of EQ and, together with previous research, brought the overall number of characterized TPs to a total of 47.publishedVersio

Use of (Q)SAR genotoxicity predictions and fuzzy multicriteria decision-making for priority ranking of ethoxyquin transformation products

Ethoxyquin (EQ; 6-ethoxy-2,2,4-trimethyl-1,2-dihydroquinoline) has been used as an antioxidant in feed for pets and food-producing animals, including farmed fish such as Atlantic salmon. In Europe, the authorization for use of EQ as a feed additive was suspended, due to knowledge gaps concerning the presence and toxicity of EQ transformation products (TPs). Recent analytical studies focusing on the detection of EQ TPs in farmed Atlantic salmon feed and fillets reported the detection of a total of 27 EQ TPs, comprising both known and previously not described EQ TPs. We devised and applied an in silico workflow to rank these EQ TPs according to their genotoxic potential and their occurrence data in Atlantic salmon feed and fillet. Ames genotoxicity predictions were obtained applying a suite of five (quantitative) structure–activity relationship ((Q)SAR) tools, namely VEGA, TEST, LAZAR, Derek Nexus and Sarah Nexus. (Q)SAR Ames genotoxicity predictions were aggregated using fuzzy analytic hierarchy process (fAHP) multicriteria decision-making (MCDM). A priority ranking of EQ TPs was performed based on combining both fAHP ranked (Q)SAR predictions and analytical occurrence data. The applied workflow prioritized four newly identified EQ TPs for further investigation of genotoxicity. The fAHP-based prioritization strategy described here, can easily be applied to other toxicity endpoints and groups of chemicals for priority ranking of compounds of most concern for subsequent experimental and mechanistic toxicology analyses.publishedVersio

Oksidativt stress, vårdropp i pigmentering og produksjonslidelser hos laks

I lakseoppdrett opplever man noen ganger en reduksjon i pigmentering av fileten i forbindelse med økt vekst i vårsesongen når temperatur og daglengde øker. I EU-prosjektet ARRAINA fant vi økt oksidativ status i fisk samplet i juni, bl.a. med redusert innhold av vitamin C i hel fisk, sammenlignet med fisk i ferskvann. Hypotesen i dette prosjektet er at økt vekst i sjø om våren er forbundet med oksidativt stress og at dette fører til nedbrytning av astaxanthin og gir den såkalte vårdroppen i pigmentering. Dette er vist tidligere med bruk av et fôr som inneholdt mye marine ingredienser, men vi ønsker å bekrefte disse resultatene under fôr- og fôringsbetingelser som er relevante for dagens oppdrett. Hvis fisken har økt oksidativt stress om våren, kan dette også føre til utvikling av katarakt og pigmentflekker i muskel. Disse hypotesene ble delvis bekreftet av resultatene i dette studiet.publishedVersio

Inter-laboratory mass spectrometry dataset based on passive sampling of drinking water for non-target analysis

Non-target analysis (NTA) employing high-resolution mass spectrometry is a commonly applied approach for the detection of novel chemicals of emerging concern in complex environmental samples. NTA typically results in large and information-rich datasets that require computer aided (ideally automated) strategies for their processing and interpretation. Such strategies do however raise the challenge of reproducibility between and within different processing workflows. An effective strategy to mitigate such problems is the implementation of inter-laboratory studies (ILS) with the aim to evaluate different workflows and agree on harmonized/standardized quality control procedures. Here we present the data generated during such an ILS. This study was organized through the Norman Network and included 21 participants from 11 countries. A set of samples based on the passive sampling of drinking water pre and post treatment was shipped to all the participating laboratories for analysis, using one pre-defined method and one locally (i.e. in-house) developed method. The data generated represents a valuable resource (i.e. benchmark) for future developments of algorithms and workflows for NTA experiments

Caractérisation des sous-produits de chloration de la microcystine-LR et de la cylindrospermopsine

With climate change and anthropic pressure, the occurrence of cyanobacteria blooms and the related toxins in surface water used to produce drinking water is a growing public health concern since various intoxications have been reported worldwide. In order to protect consumers' health, cyanotoxins behaviour towards classical processes like disinfection by chlorine should be examined. The present study investigated chlorination of a common cyanotoxin and an emerging one: microcystin-LR and cylindrospermopsin. The reaction between chlorine and toxins was characterized and various by-products were identified through ultraviolet spectrophotometry and high resolution mass spectrometry. Then tests performed on bacteria Vibrio fischeri and on Caco-2 cells allowed to assess the effect of chlorination on mixture toxicity.La présence de prolifération de cyanobactéries et des toxines associées dans les eaux de surface utilisées pour la production d'eau potable est une problématique de santé publique majeure car plusieurs cas d'intoxication ont été rapportés. Il s'avère donc nécessaire de comprendre le comportement des cyanotoxines au sein des filières de traitement d'eau et en particulier vis-à-vis de la chloration, procédé de désinfection le plus répandu en France. Les travaux réalisés au cours de cette thèse portent sur la chloration de la cyanotoxine la plus commune et d'une cyanotoxine émergente en Europe : la microcystine-LR et la cylindrospermopsine. La réaction du chlore avec les toxines a été caractérisée et divers sous-produits ont été identifiés grâce à la spectrophotométrie ultraviolet et la spectrométrie de masse à haute résolution. Des tests réalisés sur la bactérie Vibrio fischeri et sur des cellules Caco-2 ont ensuite permis de vérifier l'impact de la chloration sur la toxicité du milieu

Cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water: consumer exposure

International audienc

Cyanobacterial toxins in drinking water: what consequences for the consumer

International audienc

Pharmaceutical products in water: a growing environmental and public health concern

International audienc

Paradigm shifts and current challenges in wastewater management

International audienceWastewater is a significant environmental and public health concern which management is a constant challenge since antiquity. Wastewater research has increased exponentially over the last decades. This paper provides a global overview of the exponentially increasing wastewater research in order to identify current challenges and paradigm shifts. Besides households, hospitals and typical industries, other sources of wastewater appear due to emerging activities like hydraulic fracturing. While the composition of wastewater needs constant reassessment to identify contaminants of interest, the comprehensive chemical and toxicological analysis remains one of the main challenges in wastewater research. Moreover, recent changes in the public perception of wastewater has led to several paradigm shifts: i) water reuse considering wastewater as a water resource rather than a hazardous waste, ii) wastewater-based epidemiology considering wastewater as a source of information regarding the overall health of a population through the analysis of specific biomarkers, iii) circular economy through the implementation of treatment processes aiming at harvesting valuable components such as precious metals or producing valuable goods such as biofuel. However, wastewater research should also address social challenges such as the public acceptance of water reuse or the access to basic sanitation that is not available for nearly a third of the world population