Full length article A comparison of electronic and traditional cigarette butt leachate on the development of Xenopus laevis embryos

摘要

Abstract Potential developmental toxicities of three different cigarette butt leachates were evaluated using the frog embryo teratogenesis assay–Xenopus (FETAX). Xenopus laevis embryos were exposed to regular cigarette butt (RCB), menthol (MCB) and electronic (ECB) in concentrations ranging from 0 to 4 butts/l for {RCB} and {MCB} and 0–10 butts/l for ECB. The embryos were from stage 8 to 11 and were exposed for a 96-h period in static renewal test conditions. Median lethal concentration (LC50), malformation (EC50), non-observed adverse effect concentration (NOAEC), and lowest observed adverse effect concentration (LOAEC) were calculated. Results from these studies suggest that each tested leachate is teratogenic for X. laevis embryos. The lowest {LC50} was determined for {ECB} exposure at 17.9 cigarette butts/L. The {LC50} value was the highest with {RCB} and {MCB} having {LC50} s of approximately 1 cigarette butt/L. There were notable {EC50} differences with {RCB} having the highest and {ECB} the lowest. The {NOAEC} and {LOAEC} levels for {RCB} and {MCB} were below 1 cigarette butt/L for both mortality and malformations; over 8 butts/L for {ECB} mortality and over 4 butts/L for malformations. From these results, we conclude that {RCB} leachate is the most toxic compound, while {MCB} leachate has the higher teratogenicity. {ECB} leachate has the lowest toxic and teratogenic effects on embryos but there were still noticeable effects. The results confirmed that the {FETAX} assay can be useful in an integrated biological hazard assessment for the preliminary screening for ecological risks of cigarette butts, and electronic cigarettes, in aquatic environment.