Variable Effects of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) on Selected Biochemical Processes Mediated by Soil Microorganisms

Abstract

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are the most frequently used group of pharmaceuticals. The high consumption and the uncontrolled disposal of unused drugs into municipal waste or their deposit in landfills can result in an increased concentration of these compounds in soils. Moreover, these drugs can affect the microbial activity. However, there is a lack of knowledge about these effects or it is very limited. Therefore, the objective of this study was to compare the impact of selected commercially available NSAIDs, i.e., diclofenac (DCF), naproxen (NPX), ibuprofen (IBF) and ketoprofen (KTP), applied at concentrations of 1 and 10 mg/kg soil, on the activity of soil microorganisms during the 90-day experiment. To ascertain this impact, substrate-induced respiration (SIR), soil enzyme activities, i.e., dehydrogenase (DHA), acid and alkaline phosphatases (PHOS-H and PHOS-OH) and urease (URE) as well as changes in the rates of nitrification and ammonification processes were determined. In addition, the number of culturable bacteria and fungi were enumerated. In general, the obtained data showed a significant stimulatory effect of NSAIDs on the microbial activity. Higher concentrations of NSAIDs caused a greater effect, which was observed for SIR, PHOS-H, PHOS-OH, URE, N-NO3- and N-NH4+, even during the whole incubation period. Moreover, the number of heterotrophic bacteria and fungi increased significantly during the experiment, which was probably a consequence of the evolution of specific microorganisms that were capable of degrading NSAIDs and used them as an additional source of carbon and energy. However, an inhibitory effect of NPX, IBF or KTP for SIR, DHA, on both phosphatases and culturable bacteria and fungi was observed at the beginning of the experiment. At lower concentrations of NSAIDs, in turn, the effects were negligible or transient. In conclusion, the application of NSAIDs altered the biochemical and microbial activity of soil what may cause the disturbance in soil functioning. It is reasonable to assume that some components of the NSAID formulations could stimulate soil microorganisms, thus resulting in an increase in biochemical activities of the soil.

The effects of emerging environmental contaminants on Stenotrophomonas maltophilia isolated from drinking water in planktonic and sessile states

“…In fact, previous works reported that NSAIDs such as DCF and IBP are responsible for changes in the gut microbiome (Guslandi, 2012;Rogers and Aronoff, 2016). Cycoń et al (2016) also found that NSAIDs are responsible for biochemical and microbiological changes in soil.…”

Impact of selected non-steroidal anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals on microbial community assembly and activity in sequencing batch reactors

“…Zhu et al [ 25 ] observed that the abundance of Actinobacteria and EPS content increased in the biofilm sloughing and updating stage and indicated that the increased Actinobacteria and EPS were conducive to resist environmental stress. Cycoń et al [ 56 ] speculated that the low activity of dehydrogenase with the presence of NSAIDs might be caused by the death of the drug-sensitive part of the microbial population. Analogically, the decrease of SDH activity might be associated with the decreased Live/Dead cell rate with the addition of NSAIDs.…”

Vancomycin and/or Multidrug-Resistant Citrobacter Freundii Altered the Metabolic Pattern of Soil Microbial Community

“…Studies on the metabolic activity of microorganisms are of great significance as they show the biochemical potential of soils. Any toxicant application into soils that might affect the soil microorganism and their metabolic potential may generate changes in the productivity of soils (Badiane et al, 2001 ; Gil-Sotres et al, 2005 ; Liu et al, 2015 ; Cycoń et al, 2016b ). In our previous study, using the DGGE and PLFA profiling, we found that application of VA and VA+ C. freundii significantly altered the genetic and structural diversity of soil microbial communities (Cycoń et al, 2016a ) .…”

“…The activities of DHA, PHOSs, and URE were determined by methods of Alef ( 1995 ), Tabatabai and Bremner ( 1969 ), and Gianfreda et al ( 1994 ), respectively, and were described in a previous paper (Cycoń et al, 2016b ). Detailed information related to the determination of the enzyme activities are presented in Supplementary Materials.…”