Pharmaceutically active compounds (PhACs) are emerging contaminants that have been widely detected in water bodies in the last decades, with ecological effects toward aquatic biota that have not been fully elucidated. Most studies concerning their toxicity to microalgae have only considered short‐term individual PhAC exposure, rather than combined exposure to several compounds for longer time periods. In this study, we investigated the effects of albendazole (ABZ) (anthelmintic) and carbamazepine (antiepileptic), alone and in combination with caffeine, on the growth and production of chlorophyll‐a of the microalgae Raphidocelis subcapitata, during 16 days of exposure. ABZ alone had a more significant effect than carbamazepine alone on the growth rate and maximum cell density of the microalgae (p < .05; analysis of variance). These results were probably related to the effect of ABZ in inhibiting enzyme complexes and cell membrane proteins related to adenosine triphosphate synthesis, which is important for cell growth. The presence of caffeine lowered the toxicities of ABZ and carbamazepine to the microalgae, probably due to its antioxidant properties, positively affecting chlorophyll‐a production, growth rate, and maximum cell density. Thus, caffeine had an antagonistic interaction with the studied PhACs. The results reinforce the importance of ecotoxicological assays that compare individual and combined PhAC exposure conditions. Our findings highlighted that caffeine can be a relevant factor influencing such assays, considering its widespread occurrence in impacted water bodies.

中文翻译：

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咖啡因可降低阿苯达唑和卡马西平对微藻类次生蚜虫的毒性（Sphaeropleales，Chlorophyta）

药物活性化合物（PhAC）是最近几十年来在水体中广泛检测到的新兴污染物，其对水生生物的生态影响尚未得到充分阐明。大多数有关其对微藻类毒性的研究仅考虑了短期个人PhAC暴露，而不是较长时间组合暴露于几种化合物。在这项研究中，我们研究了阿苯达唑（ABZ）（驱虫药）和卡马西平（抗癫痫药）单独或与咖啡因联合使用对暴露16天期间微藻Raphidocelis subcapitata叶绿素a的生长和生产的影响。与单独的卡马西平相比，单独的ABZ对微藻的生长速率和最大细胞密度的影响更大（p <.05; 方差分析）。这些结果可能与ABZ抑制与三磷酸腺苷合成有关的酶复合物和细胞膜蛋白的作用有关，这对细胞生长很重要。咖啡因的存在降低了ABZ和卡马西平对微藻的毒性，这可能是由于其抗氧化特性，对叶绿素a的产生，生长速率和最大细胞密度产生了积极影响。因此，咖啡因与所研究的PhAC具有拮抗作用。结果加强了生态毒理学分析的重要性，该方法可以比较单独和组合的PhAC暴露条件。我们的研究结果强调，考虑到咖啡因广泛存在于受影响的水体中，咖啡因可能是影响此类测定的一个相关因素。