The widely dispensed antidepressant fluoxetine (Prozac�) continuously enters wastewater treatment plants where it is not removed, resulting in the detection of the drug and its metabolite, norfluoxetine, in wastewater effluents and biosolids. Because biosolids are often used as a fertilizer, fluoxetine has direct route into the terrestrial environment through their land application. To understand this potential risk of introducing fluoxetine to terrestrial food webs, a 56-day OECD reproduction test was performed on the earthworm Eisenia fetida living in soil spiked with fluoxetine at environmentally relevant levels. Earthworms are model organisms for identifying bioaccumulation of wastewater contaminants from biosolids in terrestrial food webs since they are near the bottom of the trophic chain. Samples of soil and worm will be collected at days 0, 28 and 56.  The samples will be extracted by solvent microextraction and analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry for fluoxetine and norfluoxetine. Concentrations of melatonin, tryptophan, and serotonin will also be determined to understand any differences in the serotonergic pathway in earthworms after fluoxetine exposure. Results of this study will determine the potential bioaccumulation of fluoxetine, as well as any sublethal effects such as changes in reproduction, growth, and serotonin metabolism in earthworms.

Bioaccumulation and effect of fluoxetine exposure on earthworm (Eisenia fetia) reproduction and serotonergic activity

247th National Meeting (2014)

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