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Evaluation of the photosynthetic parameters, emission of volatile organic compounds and ultrastructure of common green leafy vegetables after exposure to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs)

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Abstract

Understanding the effects of many essential non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) on plants is still limited, especially at environmentally realistic concentrations. This paper presents the influence of three of the most frequently used NSAIDs (diclofenac, ibuprofen, and naproxen) at environmentally realistic concentrations on the autochthonous green leafy vegetables: orache (Atriplex patula L.), spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.) and lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.). Our research was focused on the determination of the photosynthetic parameters, the emission rate of volatile organic compounds, and the evaluation of the ultrastructure of leaves of studied vegetables after exposure to abiotic stress induced by environmental pollutants, namely NSAIDs. The data obtained indicate a moderate reduction of foliage physiological activity as a response to the stress induced by NSAIDs to the selected green leafy vegetables. The increase of the 3-hexenal and monoterpene emission rates with increasing NSAIDs concentration could be used as a sensitive and a rapid indicator to assess the toxicity of the NSAIDs. Microscopic analysis showed that the green leafy vegetables were affected by the selected NSAIDs. In comparison to the controls, the green leafy vegetables treated with NSAIDs presented irregular growth of glandular trichomes on the surface of the adaxial side of the leaves, less stomata, cells with less cytoplasm, irregular cell walls and randomly distributed chloroplasts. Of the three NSAIDs investigated in this study, ibuprofen presented the highest influence. The results obtained in this study can be used to better estimate the impact of drugs on the environment and to improve awareness on the importance of the responsible use of drugs.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant of Romanian Ministry of Research and Innovation, CNCS – UEFISCDI, project number PN-III-P1-1.1-PD-2016-0484 within PNCDI III. We also thank LIME-CETATEA (Integrated Electron Microscopy Laboratory—Center for Research and Advanced Technologies for Alternative Energies) and “Constantin Crăciun” Electron Microscopy Laboratory, “Babeş-Bolyai” University of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) for the access to transmission electron microscopy facilities.

Author contributions

OO, MLS, and LC designed the experiments and supervised the study. OO, AC, IL, DC, and LC carried out the experiments and data collection. OO and AC wrote the paper with input from all authors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Institute for Research and Development of Isotopic and Molecular Technologies, 67-103 Donat, 400293, Cluj-Napoca, Romania

    Ocsana Opriş, Alexandra Ciorîţă, Maria-Loredana Soran & Ildikó Lung

  2. Faculty of Food Engineering, Tourism and Environmental Protection and Institute of Research, Innovation and Development in Technical and Natural Sciences of “Aurel Vlaicu” University, 2 Elena Drăgoi, 310330, Arad, Romania

    Dana Copolovici & Lucian Copolovici

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  1. Ocsana Opriş
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  2. Alexandra Ciorîţă
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  3. Maria-Loredana Soran
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Correspondence to Lucian Copolovici.

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Opriş, O., Ciorîţă, A., Soran, ML. et al. Evaluation of the photosynthetic parameters, emission of volatile organic compounds and ultrastructure of common green leafy vegetables after exposure to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Ecotoxicology 28, 631–642 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10646-019-02059-5

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