Ecotoxicological Study of Crack Using Marine Mussels Perna perna (Bivalvia: Mytilidae) as a Model Aline Saturnino Saturnino Souto Kamimura, Luciane Alves Maranho, Camilo Dias Seabra Pereira

Abstract

Cocaine concentrations found in marine ecosystems are of environmental concern because they are bioactive compounds that can bioaccumulate or cause harmful effects to non-target organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the sublethal effects of crack cocaine in different life stages of the mussel Perna perna, through fertilization, embryonic and larval development and lysosomal membrane stability of hemocytes in adult organisms. The results were evaluated using Trimmed Speraman Karber and ANOVA followed by Dunnett. The fertilization assay showed an effect concentration at 50% of the exposed gametes EC50 1h = 23.53 mg/L, while the No Observed Effect Concentration (NOEC) was 10 mg/L, and the Observed Effect Concentration (OEC) was 20 mg/L. Effects on embryonic and larval development were observed with EC50 48h = 16.31 mg/L, CENO = 0.625 mg/L and CEO = 1.25 mg/L. Effects on the lysosomal membrane were observed with CENO = 0.5 µg/L and CEO = 5.0 µg/L. This study demonstrated that crack caused effects on reproductive aspects of the mussel P. perna at cocaine concentrations above those detected in aquatic environments. However, cytotoxicity was observed at environmentally relevant concentrations, indicating a risk to the health of non-target organisms. Our study is innovative due to the unprecedented marine ecotoxicological evaluation of an illicit drug detected in Brazilian and international coastal areas.