Impact of cigarette butts elutriates on Artemia franciscana in a climate change context

Cigarette butts (CBs) are major worldwide pollutants, posing environmental challenges, especially in the current climate crisis. Hence, this study examined the biological responses of Artemia franciscana to smoked (SCBs) and non-smoked (nSCBs) cigarette butt elutriates with increased temperatures. Acute (0.188–4.0 CBs/L, 48 h) and sub-chronic (0.03125–0.5 CBs/L, 7 d) assays were performed, exposing nauplii to two temperatures (25.0 ± 1.0 °C, guideline; and 30.0 ± 1.0 °C, according to IUCN (2017) and European Environment Agency (2023) projections). High acute toxicity was observed: LC₅₀ = 3.98 SCBs/L and an LC₅₀ = 0.94 nSCBs/L at 25.0 °C, with increased toxicity for SCBs (LC₅₀ = 1.26 SCBs/L) at 30.0 °C. The sub-chronic exposure showed that the temperature increase affected the organisms' biological responses to CBs by disturbing the activity of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and the antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT) and glutathione S-transferases (GSTs), inducing oxidative damage (thiobarbituric acid reactive substances – TBARS) and influencing energy metabolism (lactate dehydrogenase – LDH). A. franciscana's biological responses emphasize the importance of mitigating CBs pollution by understanding these ecotoxicological implications in a warming world.