Abstract
We developed a sensitive method for monitoring six natural (aldosterone) and synthetic mineralocorticoids (canrenone, spironolactone, 7β-spironolactone, 7α-thio spironolactone, and 7α-thiomethyl spironolactone) in sediment and water using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray tandem mass spectrometry, and then 30 water and 30 sediment samples were analyzed to reveal their occurrence and distributions in Taihu Lake. All target six mineralocorticoids were detected in sediment and water samples with the detection frequencies as high as 96–100%. The median concentrations of mineralocorticoids ranged from 0.04 ng/L (7α-thiomethyl spironolactone) to 14 ng/L (aldosterone) in water and 0.01 ng/g (7β-spironolactone and canrenone) to 1.44 ng/g (aldosterone) in sediment in dry weight. Natural aldosterone was the predominant mineralocorticoid detected in both water and sediment samples, indicating the mineralocorticoid pollution in Taihu Lake was mainly derived from human and/or animal excrement rather than pharmaceutical industry and usage. Two metabolites 7β-spironolactone and 7α-thio spironolactone were first found in this study. Low ratios of metabolites to spironolactone were observed in sediment (0.05–0.75) in contrast to water (0.12–2.26), indicating that spironolactone was prone to degradation in water phase compared to sediment environment.
Highlights
Over the past 2 decades, steroid hormones in aquatic environments have attracted widespread attention due to their potential endocrine disrupting effects (Parks et al, 2001; Kolodziej et al, 2003; Runnalls et al, 2013; Shen et al, 2020)
Natural aldosterone was the predominant mineralocorticoid detected in both water and sediment samples, indicating the mineralocorticoid pollution in Taihu Lake was mainly derived from human and/or animal excrement rather than pharmaceutical industry and usage
Low ratios of metabolites to spironolactone were observed in sediment (0.05–0.75) in contrast to water (0.12–2.26), indicating that spironolactone was prone to degradation in water phase compared to sediment environment
Summary
Over the past 2 decades, steroid hormones in aquatic environments have attracted widespread attention due to their potential endocrine disrupting effects (Parks et al, 2001; Kolodziej et al, 2003; Runnalls et al, 2013; Shen et al, 2020). Natural mineralocorticoid, such as aldosterone, are excreted by the adrenal cortex They regulate water and salt metabolism and blood pressure, and play an important role in maintaining the constant environment in the body (Lifton et al, 2001; Kuhnle et al, 2004). We developed a method that allows the simultaneous analysis of six mineralocorticoids, including aldosterone, canrenone, 7α-thio spironolactone, 7α-thiomethyl spironolactone, spironolactone and 7β-spironolactone (Figure 1) We applied this method to investigate the occurrence of each compound in sediment and water samples from Taihu Lake, which is one of the key lakes of water pollution control in China (Qin et al, 2007; Li et al, 2009)
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