Long-term effects of antibiotics, norfloxacin, and sulfamethoxazole, in a partial life-cycle study with zebrafish (Danio rerio): effects on growth, development, and reproduction.

A partial life-cycle study with zebrafish (Danio rerio) was conducted to evaluate the long-term effects of antibiotics, norfloxacin (NOR) and sulfamethoxazole (SMX). A series of bio-endpoints correlated to the growth, development, and reproduction was assessed. The results showed that the body weight and the condition factor were depressed by SMX at 200 μg/L during the growth period. Meanwhile, the activities of metabolic enzyme (ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, EROD) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD and catalase, CAT) were stimulated in all cases. The consequences of parental exposure to antibiotics for the next generation were also examined. The egg production of parents were depressed by the 200 μg/L NOR and SMX alone or in combination. Similarly, decreased hatching, survival, and enhanced development abnormality of the next generation also occurred after parental exposure to SMX at the highest concentration. The heartbeat however was not altered in all cases. Furthermore, there was no significant difference in the bio-endpoints between the combined and individual treatment in most cases, with the exception of lower EROD activity and egg production in the co-treatment. The results suggest that long-term exposure to NOR and SMX at environmentally relevant concentrations, individually and in a mixture, may not significantly pose a threat to the growth, development, and reproduction of zebrafish, and an adverse effect may be expected at high concentration.