The Effect of Temperature and Salinity on the Elimination of Enrofloxacin in the Manila Clam Ruditapes philippinarum

Abstract

The effect of temperature and salinity on the elimination of enrofloxacin (EF) in Manila clams Ruditapes philippinarum was investigated. The clams, cultured under different temperatures and salinities (16°C and 30‰, 22°C and 30‰, or 22°C and 20‰), were exposed to EF at 5 μg/mL of water in a medicated bath. After a 24-h exposure, the concentration of EF in various tissues was measured by high-performance liquid chromatography and the elimination rate of EF in those tissues was investigated by regression analysis. After the treatment, the initial concentrations of EF among tissues were (in decreasing order) plasma > gill > visceral mass > foot > adductor muscle. In all tissues the elimination half-life (t _1/2) of EF in the clams cultured at 22°C and 20‰ and 16°C and 30‰ were markedly longer than in those cultured at 22°C and 30‰, and the t _1/2 at 16°C and 30‰ was slightly longer than that at 22°C and 20‰. Slight differences were also observed in t _1/2 values among various tissues. These data indicate that both temperature and salinity had significant effects on the elimination of EF in the Manila clams and that lower temperature or salinity could result in slower elimination.

Received January 21, 2011; accepted December 2, 2011.