Anthelmintics are drugs used for the treatment and prevention of diseases caused by parasitic worms (helminths). While the importance of anthelmintics in human as well as in veterinary medicine is evident, they represent emerging contaminants of the environment. Human anthelmintics are mainly used in tropical and sub-tropical regions, while veterinary anthelmintics have become frequently-occurring environmental pollutants worldwide due to intensive agri- and aquaculture production. In the environment, anthelmintics are distributed in water and soil in relation to their structure and physicochemical properties. Consequently, they enter various organisms directly (e.g. plants, soil invertebrates, water animals) or indirectly through food-chain. Several anthelmintics elicit toxic effects in non-target species. Although new information has been made available, anthelmintics in ecosystems should be more thoroughly investigated to obtain complex knowledge on their impact in various environments. This review summarizes available information about the occurrence, behavior, and toxic effect of anthelmintics in environment. Several reasons why anthelmintics are dangerous contaminants are highlighted along with options to reduce contamination. Negative effects are also outlined.

• Keywords
• Drug circulation, Ecotoxicity, Environmental impact, Veterinary drugs,
• MeSH
• Anthelmintics * toxicity   MeSH
• Ecosystem MeSH
• Environmental Pollutants * toxicity   MeSH
• Humans MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Water MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Humans MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Review MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Anthelmintics * MeSH
• Environmental Pollutants * MeSH
• Soil MeSH
• Water MeSH

Veterinary anthelmintics excreted from treated animals pass to soil, subsequently to plants and then to their consumers. This circulation might have various consequences, including drug-resistance promotion in helminths. The present study was designed to follow the effect of the environmental circulation of the common anthelmintic drug albendazole (ABZ) in real farm conditions on the parasitic nematode Haemonchus contortus in vivo. Two fields with fodder plants (clover and alfalfa) were fertilized, the first with dung from ABZ-treated sheep (at the recommended dosage), the second with dung from non-treated sheep (controls). After a 10-week growth period, the fresh fodder from both fields was used to feed two groups of sheep, which were infected with H. contortus. Eggs and adult nematodes from the animals of both groups were isolated, and various parameters were compared. No significant changes in the eggs' sensitivity to ABZ and thiabendazole were observed. However, significantly increased expression of several cytochromes P450 and UDP-glycosyl transferases as well as increased oxidation and glycosylation of ABZ and ABZ-sulfoxide (ABZ-SO) was found in the exposed nematodes. These results show that ABZ environmental circulation improves the ability of the helminths to deactivate ABZ.

• Keywords
• Cytochromes P450, Drug resistance, Efflux transporters, Micropollutants, UDP-glycosyl transferases, Veterinary drugs,
• MeSH
• Albendazole metabolism   pharmacology   therapeutic use   MeSH
• Anthelmintics * metabolism   pharmacology   therapeutic use   MeSH
• Haemonchus * metabolism   MeSH
• Nematoda * MeSH
• Drug Resistance MeSH
• Sheep MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Albendazole MeSH
• Anthelmintics * MeSH

Drugs are potentially dangerous environmental contaminants, as they are designed to have biological effects at low concentrations. Monepantel (MOP), an amino-acetonitrile derivative, is frequently used veterinary anthelmintics, but information about MOP environmental circulation and impact is almost non-existent. We studied the phytotoxicity, uptake and biotransformation of MOP in two fodder plants, Plantago lanceolata and Medicago sativa. The seeds and whole plant regenerants were cultivated with MOP. The plant roots and the leaves were collected after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 weeks of cultivation. The lengths of roots and proline concentrations in the roots and leaves were measured to evaluate MOP phytotoxicity. The UHPLC-MS/MS technique with a Q-TOF mass analyser was used for the identification and semi-quantification of MOP and its metabolites. Our results showed no phytotoxicity of MOP. However, both plants were able to uptake, transport and metabolize MOP. Comparing both plants, the uptake of MOP was much more extensive in Medicago sativa (almost 10-times) than in Plantago lanceolate. Moreover, 9 various metabolites of MOP were detected in Medicago sativa, while only 7 MOP metabolites were found in Plantago lanceolata. Based on metabolites structures, scheme of the metabolic pathways of MOP in both plants was proposed. MOP and its main metabolite (MOP sulfone), both anthelmintically active, were present not only in roots but also in leaves that can be consumed by animals. This indicates the potential for undesirable circulation of MOP in the environment, which could lead to many pharmacological and toxicological consequences.

• MeSH
• Aminoacetonitrile analogs & derivatives   pharmacokinetics   toxicity   MeSH
• Anthelmintics toxicity   MeSH
• Biological Transport MeSH
• Biotransformation MeSH
• Livestock MeSH
• Animal Feed toxicity   MeSH
• Medicago sativa metabolism   MeSH
• Metabolic Networks and Pathways MeSH
• Grassland * MeSH
• Plantago metabolism   MeSH
• Sulfones MeSH
• Tandem Mass Spectrometry MeSH
• Environmental Pollution * MeSH
• Animals MeSH
• Check Tag
• Animals MeSH
• Publication type
• Journal Article MeSH
• Names of Substances
• Aminoacetonitrile MeSH
• Anthelmintics MeSH
• monepantel sulfone MeSH Browser
• monepantel MeSH Browser
• Sulfones MeSH