Mytilus galloprovincialis: a non-target organism as a tool for assessing the potential toxicity of Acetylsalicylic acid (ASA)

Pharmaceutical products are largely used by humans, making them commonly found in the environment, especially the aquatic ones. The presence and the increasing concentration represent a risk for non-target organisms and humans too because many of these species enter the human food chain. At the top of the list of medicine and anti-inflammatory drugs, there is acetylsalicylic acid (ASA). One of the main animals present in the human diet is the mussel(Mytilus galloprovincialis Lamarck, 1819) chosen as a model organism for this work. Samples of M. galloprovinciaplis for 10 and 20 days to evaluate potential variation in three different organs: the digestive gland, haemocytes, and gills. We analysed: Viability tests by Trypan Blue (TB) and Neutral Red (NR) of haemocytes and cells of digestive glands. Regulation of volume decrease in digestive gland cells Histological condition index of gills and digestive gland. The results obtained showed that ASA alters the physiological mechanism of volume regulation in the digestive gland and that several inflammations in this organ and the gills are present. The data acquired to confirm the potential toxicity of ASA in the aquatic environment, highlighting the importance to improve the analysis of the effects of the pharmaceutical products and nontarget organisms.