The Identification of Metabolites and Effects of Albendazole in Alfalfa (Medicago sativa)

Lucie Raisová Stuchlíková,Radka Podlipná,Lenka Skálová,Barbora Szotáková,Lenka Langhansová,Kateřina Moťková,Martina Navrátilová

doi:10.3390/ijms21165943

Abstract

Albendazole (ABZ), a widely used anthelmintic drug, enters the environment mainly via livestock excrements. To evaluate the environmental impact of ABZ, the knowledge of its uptake, effects and metabolism in all non-target organisms, including plants, is essential. The present study was designed to identify the metabolic pathway of ABZ and to test potential ABZ phytotoxicity in fodder plant alfalfa, with seeds and in vitro regenerants used for these purposes. Alfalfa was chosen, as it may meet manure from ABZ-treated animals in pastures and fields. Alfalfa is often used as a feed of livestock, which might already be infected with helminths. The obtained results showed that ABZ did not inhibit alfalfa seed germination and germ growth, but evoked stress and a toxic effect in alfalfa regenerants. Alfalfa regenerants were able to uptake ABZ and transform it into 21 metabolites. UHPLC-MS/MS analysis revealed three new ABZ metabolites that have not been described yet. The discovery of the parent compound ABZ together with the anthelmintically active and instable metabolites in alfalfa leaves shows that the contact of fodder plants with ABZ-containing manure might represent not only a danger for herbivorous invertebrates, but also may cause the development of ABZ resistance in helminths.

Highlights

Due to their wide usage in intensive agri- and aquaculture production, veterinary drugs represent important sources of environmental pollution. These drugs can reach the environment through treatment processes, the inappropriate disposal of used containers, unused medicine or livestock feed, as well as manufacturing processes
The benzimidazole anthelmintic ABZ, one of the most used drugs in livestock farming, together with its metabolites are excreted from treated animals and enter the environment
With an aim to reveal the potential phytotoxicity of ABZ, the effects of ABZ on germination and germ growth was tested

Summary

Introduction

Due to their wide usage in intensive agri- and aquaculture production, veterinary drugs represent important sources of environmental pollution. These drugs can reach the environment through treatment processes, the inappropriate disposal of used containers, unused medicine or livestock feed, as well as manufacturing processes. The application of drugs in intensively reared livestock represents the main route of their entry into an environment. When a drug (or its metabolites) is excreted by animals, it passes into the environment directly or indirectly. Direct entry occurs via the treatment of pasture-reared animals that excrete drug residues straight into the environment. The indirect route consists of the application of manure and slurry originating from treated animals to the field [1]

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