Screening of antimicrobials, fragrances, UV stabilizers, plasticizers and preservatives in sewage treatment plants (STPs) and their risk assessment in India.

Community/industrial wastewater is the prime source of anthropogenic chemicals, its treatment is often a daunting task and unaffordable for many countries. Emerging Contaminants (ECs) have been drained into wastewater after continuous use/misuse and Conventional treatments in STPs do not remove them completely. ECs including antimicrobial agents, synthetic musks, Benzotriazole UV stabilizers (BUVSs), plasticizers, and preservatives are frequently reported in environment, and cause health effects to non-target organisms.

Urinary concentration of endocrine-disrupting phthalates and breast cancer risk in Indian women: A case-control study with a focus on mutations in phthalate-responsive genes.

Background: Phthalates are known endocrine-disrupting chemicals used indiscriminately as constituents in consumer products including food processing, and packaging, cosmetics, personal care and household items. Although, few studies have assessed the risk of breast cancer on exposure to phthalates, their association with breast cancer risk in Indian women have not yet been evaluated.

Methods: We conducted a case-control study involving 171 participants.

Synthetic musks in surface water and fish from the rivers in India: Seasonal distribution and toxicological risk assessment.

Synthetic musks (SMs), a class of organic compounds added to various personal care products (PCPs) to enhance aroma, are increasingly released into the environment and become one emerging contaminants of concern in India. Some SMs like Galaxolide, Tonalide and Musk Ketone (MK) are lipophilic and found ubiquitously in the environment, posing health and ecological risks, especially affecting aquatic organisms. Hence, monitoring the synthetic musks contamination in these rivers become environmentally inevitable.

Occurrence of triclocarban and benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers in water, sediment, and fish from Indian rivers.

Triclocarban and benzotriazole ultraviolet stabilizers (BUVSs) are listed as high production volume synthetic chemicals, used extensively in personal care products. Many of these chemicals persist in the aquatic environment as micropollutants. Knowledge on their fate in freshwater ecosystems is still lacking, especially in the Indian Rivers.

GC-MS determination of phthalate esters in human urine: A potential biomarker for phthalate bio-monitoring.

Six phthalic acid esters (PAEs) in human urine sampled randomly from three districts (Erode, Thanjavur, and Perambalur) in Tamil Nadu State and a Union Territory (Pondicherry) in India were quantified. We determined gender-wise, age-wise and location-wise distribution of PAEs and measured estrogenic activity of urine by molecular docking. Bis(2‑ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) was the predominant phthalic acid ester found and had a recovery of 104.

The application of histo-cytopathological biomarkers in the mud crab Scylla serrata (Forskal) to assess heavy metal toxicity in Pulicat Lake, Chennai.

The concentrations of heavy metals and their associated structural deformities in the gills, muscles and hepatopancreas of Scylla serrata from Pulicat Lake were determined and compared with crabs live along Kovalam coast. The concentrations of metals were high in the hepatopancreas and gills of crab from Pulicat Lake, whereas, low in crab from the Kovalam coast. Data were visualized using a principal component analysis (PCA).

Identification of testosterone-dependent volatile compounds and proteins in the preputial gland of rat Rattus norvegicus.

Preputial gland is one of the best known and most odour-producing organs in many non-primate mammals. It is generally believed that the development of this gland and functions are regulated by testosterone. To substantiate this point, the present study was aimed to evaluate the testosterone-dependent volatile compounds and proteins in the preputial gland of rat adopting castration and testosterone supplementation.