To provide the first nationwide reconnaissance of the occurrence of pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants (OWCs) in water resources, the U.S. Geological Survey used five newly developed analytical methods to measure concentrations of 95 OWCs in water samples from a network of 139 streams across 30 states during 1999 and 2000. The selection of sampling sites was biased toward streams susceptible to contamination (i.e. downstream of intense urbanization and livestock production). OWCs were prevalent during this study, being found in 80% of the streams sampled. The compounds detected represent a wide range of residential, industrial, and agricultural origins and uses with 82 of the 95 OWCs being found during this study. The most frequently detected compounds were coprostanol (fecal steroid), cholesterol (plant and animal steroid), N,N-diethyltoluamide (insect repellant), caffeine (stimulant), triclosan (antimicrobial disinfectant), tri(2-chloroethyl)phosphate (fire retardant), and 4-nonylphenol (nonionic detergent metabolite). Measured concentrations for this study were generally low and rarely exceeded drinking-water guidelines, drinking-water health advisories, or aquatic-life criteria. Many compounds, however, do not have such guidelines established. The detection of multiple OWCs was common for this study, with a median of seven and as many as 38 OWCs being found in a given water sample. Little is known about the potential interactive effects (such as synergistic or antagonistic toxicity) that may occur from complex mixtures of OWCs in the environment. In addition, results of this study demonstrate the importance of obtaining data on metabolites to fully understand not only the fate and transport of OWCs in the hydrologic system but also their ultimate overall effect on human health and the environment.

/pdf/pharmaceuticals-hormones-and-other-organic-wastewater-1tge16xbvm.pdf

Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. streams, 1999-2000: a national reconnaissance.

The biochemistry and medical significance of the flavonoids.

Although metformin is widely used for the treatment of non-insulin-dependent diabetes, its mode of action remains unclear. Here we provide evidence that its primary site of action is through a direct inhibition of complex 1 of the respiratory chain. Metformin(50 microM) inhibited mitochondrial oxidation of glutamate+malate in hepatoma cells by 13 and 30% after 24 and 60 h exposure respectively, but succinate oxidation was unaffected. Metformin also caused time-dependent inhibition of complex 1 in isolated mitochondria, whereas in sub-mitochondrial particles inhibition was immediate but required very high metformin concentrations (K(0.5),79 mM). These data are compatible with the slow membrane-potential-driven accumulation of the positively charged drug within the mitochondrial matrix leading to inhibition of complex 1. Metformin inhibition of gluconeogenesis from L-lactate in isolated rat hepatocytes was also time- and concentration-dependent, and accompanied by changes in metabolite levels similar to those induced by other inhibitors of gluconeogenesis acting on complex 1. Freeze-clamped livers from metformin-treated rats exhibited similar changes in metabolite concentrations. We conclude that the drug's pharmacological effects are mediated, at least in part, through a time-dependent, self-limiting inhibition of the respiratory chain that restrains hepatic gluconeogenesis while increasing glucose utilization in peripheral tissues. Lactic acidosis, an occasional side effect, canal so be explained in this way.

/pdf/evidence-that-metformin-exerts-its-anti-diabetic-effects-108ln4ri8k.pdf

Evidence that metformin exerts its anti-diabetic effects through inhibition of complex 1 of the mitochondrial respiratory chain

A number of chemicals present in the environment have been shown to mimic or antagonize the actions of steroid hormones, an issue often described as “endocrine disruption/modulation”. There is very little evidence, however, to support the hypothesis that exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals is a global environmental health problem. In this paper, we demonstrate a high incidence of intersexuality in wild populations of riverine fish (roach; Rutilus rutilus) throughout the United Kingdom. These reproductive disturbances are consistent with exposure to hormonally active substances and are associated with discharges from sewage treatment works that are known to contain estrogenic chemicals. This is the first documented example of a widespread sexual disruption in wild populations of any vertebrate and indicates that reproductive and developmental effects do result from exposure to ambient levels of chemicals present in typical British rivers.

Widespread Sexual Disruption in Wild Fish

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are formed during incomplete combustion. Domestic wood burning and road traffic are the major sources of PAHs in Sweden. In Stockholm, the sum of 14 different PAHs is 100-200 ng/m(3) at the street-level site, the most abundant being phenanthrene. Benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) varies between 1 and 2 ng/m(3). Exposure to PAH-containing substances increases the risk of cancer in humans. The carcinogenicity of PAHs is associated with the complexity of the molecule, i.e., increasing number of benzenoid rings, and with metabolic activation to reactive diol epoxide intermediates and their subsequent covalent binding to critical targets in DNA. B[a]P is the main indicator of carcinogenic PAHs. Fluoranthene is an important volatile PAH because it occurs at high concentrations in ambient air and because it is an experimental carcinogen in certain test systems. Thus, fluoranthene is suggested as a complementary indicator to B[a]P. The most carcinogenic PAH identified, dibenzo[a,l]pyrene, is also suggested as an indicator, although it occurs at very low concentrations. Quantitative cancer risk estimates of PAHs as air pollutants are very uncertain because of the lack of useful, good-quality data. According to the World Health Organization Air Quality Guidelines for Europe, the unit risk is 9 X 10(-5) per ng/m(3) of B[a]P as indicator of the total PAH content, namely, lifetime exposure to 0.1 ng/m(3) would theoretically lead to one extra cancer case in 100,000 exposed individuals. This concentration of 0.1 ng/m(3) of B[a]P is suggested as a health-based guideline. Because the carcinogenic potency of fluoranthene has been estimated to be approximately 20 times less than that of B[a]P, a tentative guideline value of 2 ng/m(3) is suggested for fluoranthene. Other significant PAHs are phenanthrene, methylated phenanthrenes/anthracenes and pyrene (high air concentrations), and large-molecule PAHs such as dibenz[a,h]anthracene, benzo[b]fluoranthene, benzo[k]fluoranthene, and indeno[1,2,3-cd]pyrene (high carcinogenicity). Additional source-specific indicators are benzo[ghi]perylene for gasoline vehicles, retene for wood combustion, and dibenzothiophene and benzonaphthothiophene for sulfur-containing fuels.

Cancer risk assessment, indicators, and guidelines for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the ambient air.

A foot-pad oedema model was used to investigate the presence of free radicals using a chemiluminescence method. This model is an example of a cell mediated hypersensitivity reaction. Male rats were inoculated in the scruff with Freund's Complete Adjuvant (FCA) on Day 0 and then challenged 6 days later with FCA in one hind paw. An acute inflammatory reaction was initiated over the following 96 hours and within 4 hours of induction, reactive oxygen species were detected in the inflamed tissue. A peak of chemiluminescence activity was seen 8 hours after the induction of the inflammatory reaction, well before maximum oedema was observed. Using mannitol, catalase and DABCO to elucidate the nature of the reactive oxygen species it was found that hydroxyl radicals, hydrogen peroxide and singlet oxygen all contributed to this burst of oxidative activity and are therefore probably involved with the process of lipid peroxidation and the severity of an inflammatory reaction.

Free radical production at the site of an acute inflammatory reaction as measured by chemiluminescence

Induction of the cytochrome P450 I and IV families and peroxisomal proliferation in the liver of rats treated with benoxaprofen. Possible implications in its hepatotoxicity.

A study was made of the nature and specificity of the increase in biphenyl 2-hydroxylase activity after preincubation of liver microsomal preparations with various carcinogens in vitro. This enhancement of enzyme activity in vitro was investigated in mouse, hamster and rat, and although the rat appears to be atypical in the variation of the pattern of 2- and 4-hydroxylation with age, similar enhancements were detectable in each species examined. An increase in biphenyl 2-hydroxylase activity was apparent 2h after intraperitoneal administration of safrole or benzopyrene to mature Wistar albino rats and appeared to be similar in nature to that observed after preincubation of liver microsomal preparations with the same chemical in vitro. Investigation of other drug-metabolizing enzyme systems suggests that the enhancing effects of carcinogens in vitro are specific for biphenyl 2-hydroxylase. No correlation between the enhancement of biphenyl 2-hydroxylase and inhibtion of biphenyl 4-hydroxylase was apparent.

The effects of benzopyrene and safrole on biphenyl 2-hydroxylase and other drug-metabolizing enzymes.

The biological defence systems against oxygen radical toxicity and chemical toxicity, and their component enzymes, are described, and the nutritional requirements for biological defence against chemical and oxygen toxicity, including calories, protein, lipids and lipotropes, vitamins and minerals, are reviewed in the context of their contribution to the mechanisms of detoxication. Modulation of the cytochromes P-450, and hence toxicity, by dietary components are considered; the P450I family, induced by food pyrolysis mutagens, and the P450IIE family, induced by alcohol and fasting, contribute substantially to chemical toxicity and carcinogenicity. It is concluded that: (i) the detoxication system of terrestrial fauna has evolved over greater than 300 million years to protect animals from dietary plant toxins; (ii) protection against chemical and oxygen toxicity requires all categories of nutrients; and (iii) the role of food and nutrition in detoxication is essential to survival.

Nutritional requirements for detoxication of environmental chemicals.

The role of cytochrome P-450 in the metabolism of pollutants

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