A major source of the wide presence of EDCs (Endocrine Disrupting Compounds) in water bodies is represented by direct/indirect discharge of sewage. Recent scientific literature reports data about ...their trace concentration in water, sediments and aquatic organisms, as well as removal efficiencies of different wastewater treatment schemes. Despite the availability of a huge amount of data, some doubts still persist due to the difficulty in evaluating synergistic effects of trace pollutants in complex matrices. In this paper, an integrated assessment procedure was used, based on chemical and biological analyses, in order to compare the performance of two full scale biological wastewater treatment plants (either equipped with conventional settling tanks or with an ultrafiltration membrane unit) and tertiary ozonation (pilot scale).
Nonylphenol and bisphenol A were chosen as model EDCs, together with the parent compounds mono- and di-ethoxylated nonylphenol (quantified by means of GC–MS). Water estrogenic activity was evaluated by applying the human breast cancer MCF-7 based reporter gene assay. Process parameters (e.g., sludge age, temperature) and conventional pollutants (e.g., COD, suspended solids) were also measured during monitoring campaigns.
Conventional activated sludge achieved satisfactory removal of both analytes and estrogenicity. A further reduction of biological activity was exerted by MBR (Membrane Biological Reactor) as well as ozonation; the latter contributed also to decrease EDC concentrations.
► The fate of selected EDCs in two WWTPs was investigated. ► Similar performances were observed in the two different plants (CAS and MBR). ► Biological assays showed that MBR was more efficient in estrogenicity reduction. ► Rate constants of ozonation, described by first order kinetics, were calculated. ► In addition to EDC reduction, ozonation yielded an appreciable estrogenicity decrease.
Some phthalates are suspected to disrupt the endocrine system, especially by mimicking estrogens. In this study, we characterized the activities of human estrogen receptor α (hERα), human estrogen ...receptor β (hERβ), and human androgen receptor (hAR) in the presence of 22 phthalates including 3 of their metabolites using highly sensitive reporter gene assays. Of the 22 compounds tested, several phthalate diesters with alkyl chains ranging in length from C
3 to C
6 exhibited not only hERα-mediated estrogenic activity, but also hERβ-mediated antiestrogenic activity in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, we found that some phthalate diesters possess hAR-mediated antiandrogenic activity. However, the phthalates having side chains with very short length (diethyl) or very long length (diheptyl), and three metabolites (monoesters) were found to have no effect on the activities of the three receptors. These results indicate that several phthalate esters simultaneously act as agonists and/or antagonists via one or more hormonal receptors, and interaction of phthalate esters with the estrogen and androgen receptors requires certain size and bulkiness with alkyl groups.
Chemicals that have estrogenic activity (EA) can potentially cause adverse health effects in mammals including humans, sometimes at low doses in fetal through juvenile stages with effects detected in ...adults. Polycarbonate (PC) thermoplastic resins made from bisphenol A (BPA), a chemical that has EA, are now often avoided in products used by babies. Other BPA-free thermoplastic resins, some hypothesized or advertised to be EA-free, are replacing PC resins used to make reusable hard and clear thermoplastic products such as baby bottles.
We used two very sensitive and accurate in vitro assays (MCF-7 and BG1Luc human cell lines) to quantify the EA of chemicals leached into ethanol or water/saline extracts of fourteen unstressed or stressed (autoclaving, microwaving, UV radiation) thermoplastic resins. Estrogen receptor (ER)-dependent agonist responses were confirmed by their inhibition with the ER antagonist ICI 182,780.
Our data showed that some (4/14) unstressed and stressed BPA-free thermoplastic resins leached chemicals having significant levels of EA, including one polystyrene (PS), and three Tritan™ resins, the latter reportedly EA-free. Exposure to UV radiation in natural sunlight resulted in an increased release of EA from Tritan™ resins. Triphenyl-phosphate (TPP), an additive used to manufacture some thermoplastic resins such as Tritan™, exhibited EA in both MCF-7 and BG1Luc assays. Ten unstressed or stressed glycol-modified polyethylene terephthalate (PETG), cyclic olefin polymer (COP) or copolymer (COC) thermoplastic resins did not release chemicals with detectable EA under any test condition.
This hazard survey study assessed the release of chemicals exhibiting EA as detected by two sensitive, widely used and accepted, human cell line in vitro assays. Four PC replacement resins (Tritan™ and PS) released chemicals having EA. However, ten other PC-replacement resins did not leach chemicals having EA (EA-free-resins). These results indicate that PC-replacement plastic products could be made from EA-free resins (if appropriate EA-free additives are chosen) that maintain advantages of re-usable plastic items (price, weight, shatter resistance) without releasing chemicals having EA that potentially produce adverse health effects on current or future generations.
The assay described here represents an improved yeast bioassay that provides a rapid yet sensitive screening method for EDCs with very little hands-on time and without the need for sample ...preparation. Traditional receptor-mediated reporter assays in yeast were performed twelve to twenty four hours after ligand addition, used colorimetric substrates, and, in many cases, required high, non-physiological concentrations of ligand. With the advent of new chemiluminescent substrates a ligand-induced signal can be detected within thirty minutes using high picomolar to low nanomolar concentrations of estrogen. As a result of the sensitivity (EC
50 for estradiol is ∼
0.7
nM) and the very short assay time (2–4
h) environmental water samples can typically be assayed directly without sterilization, extraction, and concentration. Thus, these assays represent rapid and sensitive approaches for determining the presence of contaminants in environmental samples. As proof of principle, we directly assayed wastewater influent and effluent taken from a wastewater treatment plant in the El Paso, TX area for the presence of estrogenic activity. The data obtained in the four-hour yeast bioassay directly correlated with GC-mass spectrometry analysis of these same water samples.
Multi-endpoint toxicity tests were used to evaluate the acute toxicity, estrogenic activity, neurotoxicity, genotoxicity, and ecological risks of surface water and sewage from possible pollution ...sources in rural areas of the Yellow River (China). Toxicity testing results showed that the luminescence inhibition rates of acute toxicity ranged from not detected (ND) to 38%, the 17β-estradiol equivalent (E2-EQ) values of estrogenic activity ranged from 4.8 to 131.0 ng·L−1, neurotoxicity was not detected, and the protein effect level index (PELI) values of genotoxicity ranged from 1 to 6.06. Neither acute toxicity nor genotoxicity were detected in the tributaries of the Yellow River (River 2) flowing through the investigated rural area. The distribution of high estrogenic activity sites was relatively scattered, but mainly located in the tributaries of River 2. Industrial, domestic, and livestock and poultry breeding sewage were all possible sources of toxicity, and the contribution of livestock and poultry to environmental estrogens in the surface water was significant. Furthermore, the potential effect-targeting risks of toxic substances in the surface water for aquatic organisms were assessed using the risk quotient method, by considering the toxic equivalent concentration. The results indicated that the risk of estrogenic activity was the main ecological risk in the surface water of this rural area. Except for the reservoir site, the other sampling sites showed a moderate to high estrogenic activity risk, especially in the tributaries of River 2.
In recent decades, paying attention to bisphenol A (BPA), as one of the endocrine disruptor compounds, has increased due to its harmful effects. Although, scattered studies have been conducted in ...order to measure BPA concentration migrated into polymeric baby bottles in different countries of the world, there are no review studies and evaluation with a global perspective in the field of BPA risk. Some of these studies indicated the potential risks and estrogenic effects associated with BPA in babies’ daily intake. For this purpose, we reviewed the information on the migration levels of BPA into baby bottles has been reported in 10 countries. The potential risks associated with BPA through the daily intake as well as the estrogenic effect on 3 age groups of babies which include 0 to 6, 6 to 12, and 12 to 24 months were analyzed using the Monte Carlo simulation. Also, kinetic models were applied to predict the kinetics of the migration process of BPA. The median daily intake for 3 age groups was obtained as 191.1, 161.37, and 153.76 µg/kg/day, respectively; which indicated Hazard Index (HI) > 1. The median estrogenic effect for the 3 groups was estimated to be 0.021 ngE2/L. The kinetics of contaminant transfer with Polynomial model at 2 temperatures of 24°C and 40°C showed a better fit with R2 = 0.99 and 0.91, respectively. Based on the risk assessment analysis conducted in the present study, the BPA migration in baby bottles appeared to be a health concern for babies. Therefore, it is needed to increase the safety level of bottles for babies as they are sensitive and vulnerable members of every society. Furthermore, in this study, only the investigation of the global situation of BPA in polymeric baby bottles was stated; therefore, more investigation about another potential sources of BPA in food chain is needed.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) represent an important input of contaminants in the environment. Therefore, it is critical to continuously monitor the performance of WWTPs to take appropriate ...action and avoid an influx of contaminants in the environment. In this study, a battery of seven in vitro bioassays covering a selected spectrum of toxicity effects is proposed for quality control of wastewater effluents. The bioassays address mixture toxicity, which is the combined adverse effect of multiple contaminants and can act as an early warning system. The proposed battery was applied to samples from 11 WWTPs of representative technology from the Danube River Basin (DRB). The order of toxic effects in terms of extent of exceedance of effect-based trigger values (EBTs) was PAH (PAH activity) > PXR (xenobiotic metabolism) > ERα (estrogenic activity) > PPARγ > Nrf2 (oxidative stress) > anti-AR > GR. A mitigation plan for WWTP operators based on EBT exceedance is proposed. This study demonstrates that the proposed effect-based monitoring battery is a complementary tool to the chemical analysis approach. A regular application of such time- and cost-effective bioanalytical tools in the WWTPs of the DRB is proposed to provide a ‘safety net’ for aquatic ecosystems.
•Whole yam has been prepared by using media milling.•The estrogenic effect of diosgenin and media-milled yam was illustrated via REAβ yeast model.•Both diosgenin and media-milled yam exhibited ...anti-proliferation on two cancer cell lines.•Diosgenin in media-milled yam was the major compound to exhibit the bioactivities.
In our previous study, media milling was found to significantly increase the content of diosgenin in aqueous yam suspensions via size reduction. This study is a continuation to understand the estrogenic activity of the media-milled yam using diosgenin as a reference material. We have examined the effects of the media-milled yam on estrogen level in a yeast strain expressing hERβ and the proliferation of two cancer cell lines (MCF-7 and Ishikawa). As a common form of estrogen, 17β-estradiol exhibited high estrogenic activity, and enhanced the growth of both cancer cell lines. Diosgenin also exhibited estrogenic activity, but inhibited the growth of both cancer cell lines. The media-milled yam yielded an estrogen equivalent of 1.65 × 10−4 g/g with a moderate inhibition on the growth of both cancer cell lines. The data indicated that diosgenin was the major compound for the estrogenic activity and inhibition on cancer cells exerted by the media-milled yam.
A method for quantification of diarylheptanoids in Curcuma comosa rhizomes and selected pharmaceutical preparations was established by using HPLC-diode array detector (DAD). The chromatographic ...separation of three diarylheptanoids (3S)-1-(3,4-dihydroxy-phenyl)-7-phenyl-(6E)-6-hepten-3-ol (1), (3R)-1,7-diphenyl-(4E,6E)-4,6-heptadien-3-ol (2), and (3S)-1,7-diphenyl-(6E)-6-hepten-3-ol (3) was performed on a Luna C18 analytical column using gradient elution with 0.5% acetic acid in water and acetonitrile with a flow rate of 1 mL/min and a column temperature of 35°C. The calibration curves for the analytes showed good linearity (R2>0.999), high precision (relative standard deviation (RSD) <2%) and acceptable recovery (98.35–103.90%, RSD <2%). The limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) were 0.06–0.22 and 0.18–0.69 µg/mL, respectively. The results of all validated parameters were within the limits according to the International Conference on Harmonization (ICH) Guidelines. The established method was successfully applied for qualitative and quantitative determination of the three constituents in different samples of C. comosa and some commercial products in capsules. The simplicity, rapidity, and reliability of the method could be useful for the fingerprint analysis and standardization of diarylheptanoids, which are responsible for the estrogenic activity in raw materials and herbal medicinal products of C. comosa.
There is paucity of data from Asian women on the association between serum estrogens and osteoporotic hip fracture risk. We conducted a case-control study nested within a population-based prospective ...cohort, The Singapore Chinese Health Study, to evaluate serum estrogens levels, ERα-mediated estrogenic activity and hip fracture risk in postmenopausal Asian women. Among 35,298 women who were recruited between 1993 and 1998, 15,410 women donated blood for research between 1999 and 2004. From this subcohort, we identified 140 cases who subsequently suffered hip fracture after blood donation, and 278 age-matched controls. Serum levels of total estrone, estradiol and sex hormone binding globulin levels were measured in a blinded fashion among cases and controls. ERα-mediated estrogenic activity of serum samples was quantified using a sensitive ERα-driven cell bioassay. Women with hip fracture had lower serum estrogens than control women. Compared to the lowest quintile, women in the highest quintile of free estradiol exhibited a statistically significant 57% reduction in risk of hip fracture (95% confidence interval (CI), 6-80%), with a dose-dependent relationship (p for trend=0.021). High levels of ERα-mediated estrogenic activity were also associated with decreased risk of hip fracture (p for trend=0.048). Overall, women with relatively high levels of both free estradiol and ERα-mediated estrogenic activity had a 55% reduction in hip fracture risk (95% CI, 17-76%) compared to women with low levels of both. High levels of free estradiol and ERα-mediated estrogen activity in sera were associated with reduced hip fracture risk in Chinese postmenopausal women.
PDF
