Occurrence of fibrates and their metabolites in source and drinking water in Shanghai and Zhejiang, China

Abstract

Fibrates, which are widely used lipidaemic-modulating drugs, are emerging environmental pollutants. However, fibrate concentrations in the environment have not been thoroughly surveyed. Here, we determined concentrations of the most commonly used fibrates and their metabolites in source water and drinking water samples from ten drinking water treatment plants in Shanghai and Zhejiang, China, using solid-phase extraction and liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. All the target compounds were detected in at least some of the source water samples, at concentrations ranging from 0.04 ng/L (fenofibrate) to 1.53 ng/L (gemfibrozil). All the compounds except fenofibrate were also detected in at least some of the drinking water samples, at recoveries ranging from 35.5% to 91.7%, suggesting that these compounds are poorly removed by typical drinking water treatment processes. In a peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor α agonistic activity assay, the target compounds showed no significant activity at nanogram per litre concentrations; therefore, our results suggest that the fibrate concentrations in drinking water in Shanghai and Zhejiang, China do not significantly affect human health. However, because of the increasing westernization of the Chinese diet, fibrate use may increase, and thus monitoring fibrate concentrations in aquatic environments and drinking water in China will become increasingly important.

PPARα Ligand-Binding Domain Structures with Endogenous Fatty Acids and Fibrates

“…We also revealed PPARα-LBD structures with all six fibrates in clinical use. Although fibrates are less popular than statins as anti-dyslipidemia drugs in most countries including Japan, the occurrence of fibrates and their metabolites in source and drinking water was reported in China and other countries ( Ido et al., 2017 ) and the world recipient population is estimated to be huge. Therefore, our findings will attract over millions of patients who take fibrates and doctors who prescribe them.…”

Overview of Sample Preparation and Chromatographic Methods to Analysis Pharmaceutical Active Compounds in Waters Matrices

“…An example of this application is a SPE cartridge with a cation exchange resin and an HLB copolymer is the mixed-mode/cationic-exchange (MCX) [98,99], mixed-mode/anion-exchange (MAX) [26], and weak anion-exchange (WAX) [27]. These mixed-mode sorbents were used for reducing interference and matrix effects in the determination of PhACs in waters [92,98,[100][101][102][103]. Unfortunately, the sorption capabilities of these cartridges are often limited when compared to the HLB cartridge for large volumes of water or complex environmental matrices [88].…”

An alien metabolite vs. a synthetic chemical hazard: An ecotoxicological comparison in the Mediterranean blue mussel

“…• FFB can be effectively chosen for comparative evaluations in ecotoxicology studies since it is released into the coastal waters from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and it is widely considered harmful to aquatic life posing a major threat to aquatic ecosystems (Andreozzi et al, 2003;Du et al, 2008Du et al, , 2004Hering et al, 2021;Ido et al, 2017;Isidori et al, 2007;Jung et al, 2021;Rosal et al, 2010). The concentrations of FFB detected in the effluents from WWTPs range from 0.08 ng/L to 0.16 μg/L, reaching 70.3 ng/L in coastal areas (Afsa et al, 2020;Andreozzi et al, 2003;Ido et al, 2017;Solé and Sanchez-Hernandez, 2018;Tete et al, 2020). Moreover, FFB as well as its active form, the fenofibric acid, have been found in groundwater, surface water and drinking water in concentrations up to 1 ng/L (Ido et al, 2017;Jung et al, 2021);…”