Effexor concentrations in bluegill sunfish liver, brain,

muscle and plasma samples

Abstract
Over 27 million people in the United States are prescribed antidepressant
pharmaceuticals, which enter the environment via wastewater treatment plants.
Venlafaxine, a selective serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor, is one of the
most commonly prescribed antidepressants in the United States. Venlafaxine has been
measured in non-target organisms living in effluent-impacted streams, raising concerns
about the potential adverse effects on non-target aquatic life. Bluegill sunfish (Lepornis
macrochirus) were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of venlafaxine
(0.386 g/L and 1.796 g/L) for 21 days in the laboratory. Plasma, liver, brain, and
muscle samples were collected from the fish, extracted, and analyzed using liquid
chromatography tandem mass spectrometry to measure the concentrations of venlafaxine
and its pharmacologically active metabolite, norvenlafaxine. Concentrations of
venlafaxine were found in muscle, brain, plasma and liver as well as concentrations of
norvenlafaxine throughout the 21 days of exposure. Bioconcentration factor (BCF) for
venlafaxine and norvenlafaxine in bluegill sunfish increased from muscle < brain <
plasma < liver < whole fish with whole fish BCF predicted to be 5.87 in venlafaxine low
treatment and 4.52 in venlafaxine high treatment.