The effects of the antibiotic erythromycin on Oryzias javanicus in gender perspective

Abstract

Erythromycin (ERY) is an antibiotic that is widely prescribed in human and veterinary medicine to treat several bacterial infections. This antibiotic was reported to have various effects on aquatic environments. This study aimed to evaluate whether there is a difference in sensitivity to ERY between male and female Oryzias javanicus. The experimental fish were exposed to ERY (2 mg/L) for 96 hours. In this experiment, each experimental unit used five fish with five replications. Male and female animals were kept in different containers during the experiment The parameters measured were oxygen consumption and survival rate. The oxygen consumption of male and female of O. javanicus before the experiment began showed a statistically significant difference (p <0.05). The average oxygen consumption of female O. javanicus was 0.752 mgO2/g body weight/hour, while the average oxygen consumption of males was 0.474 mgO2/g body weight/hour. After exposure to ERY, the oxygen consumption of male O. javanicus was reduced to 0.353 mgO2/g body weight/hour. In contrast, there was 100% mortality of the female O. javanicus by the end of the experiment. After exposure to ERY, the percent mortality of male and female O. javanicus were statistically no different (p <0.05). Males were not more resistant to ERY than females. This study concluded that there was no difference in sensitivity to ERY between male and female O. javanicus.