The synthetic cannabinoid 5F-ADB induced developmental toxicity in Daphnia magna through disrupting the oxidative stress system and the nervous conduction system

Qinghua Liu; Pan Yi; Jiawei Sun; Yuqing Liu; Hongxia Sui; Ruixin Guo; Jianqiu Chen; Yanhua Liu

doi:10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.144036

The synthetic cannabinoid 5F-ADB induced developmental toxicity in Daphnia magna through disrupting the oxidative stress system and the nervous conduction system

Chemosphere. 2024 Dec 28:144036. doi: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.144036. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Qinghua Liu¹, Pan Yi², Jiawei Sun², Yuqing Liu², Hongxia Sui³, Ruixin Guo², Jianqiu Chen², Yanhua Liu⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Engineering, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China; Anti Drug Brigade of Tianjin Public Security Bureau, Tianjin, 300380, China.
² School of Engineering, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China.
³ Donghai Street Community Health Service Center, Hexi District, Tianjin, 300202, China.
⁴ School of Engineering, China Pharmaceutical University, Nanjing 210009, China. Electronic address: liuyanhua8.18@163.com.

PMID: 39736362
DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.144036

Abstract

Methyl 2-{[1-(5-fluoropentyl)-1H-indazole-3-carbonyl]amino}-3,3-dimethylbutanoate (5F-ADB), which is classified as an illicit drug in China and most European countries, is susceptible to abuse. The abuse of 5F-ADB must avoid entering the water environment. However, the aquatic toxic effects of 5F-ADB remain unclear. In this study, Daphnia magna (D. magna) was used to investigate the potential toxicity of 5F-ADB at concentrations of 0, 0.01, 1, and 100 μg/L. The results showed that 5F-ADB caused significant developmental, reproductive, and neurodevelopmental toxicity in D. magna. Compared with the control group, exposure to 5F-ADB significantly reduced daphnia body length, weight, heartbeat, total number of offspring, while increased daphnia respiratory rate, and swimming behavior. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased significantly, while catalase (CAT) activity decreased, indicating that the exposed daphnia suffered obvious oxidative damage. 5F-ADB also triggered the inhibition of the serotonergic and noradrenergic systems, which ultimately stimulated the swimming behavior of D. magna. This study demonstrates that 5F-ADB has a significant toxic effect on the vital activity of D. magna upon entering aquatic environments, and that synthetic cannabinoid analogs such as 5F-ADB may pose potential ecological risks to organisms in aquatic ecosystems.

Keywords: Aquatic environmental risk; Daphnia magna; Developmental Toxicity; New psychoactive substance; Synthetic cannabinoid.