Toxicological Assessment of Ketamine in Juvenile Zebrafish (Danio rerio).
Toxics – January 24, 2025
Source: PubMed
Summary
Ketamine's effects on young zebrafish reveal surprising insights about its toxicity and behavioral impact. Using advanced monitoring systems and metabolic analysis (UPLC-LTQ/Orbitrap HRMS), researchers found that zebrafish exposed to ketamine showed reduced movement and altered metabolism. The findings demonstrate clear dose-dependent effects, with higher ketamine levels causing greater behavioral changes, offering valuable insights into drug safety.
Abstract
This study investigates the toxic effects of ketamine on juvenile zebrafish, driven by increasing concerns over ketamine's prevalence and its potential neurotoxic effects that may disrupt behavior and metabolism. Employing a high-throughput behavior tracking system, the research analyzed the locomotor activity of 6-day post-fertilization (6 dpf) zebrafish exposed to various concentrations of ketamine. The integration of behavioral analysis with metabolic profiling was a notable innovation, as it establishes a comprehensive understanding of ketamine's effects on both acute behavioral inhibition and metabolic responses. The findings reveal that ketamine exposure significantly inhibits locomotor activity in juvenile zebrafish, with these effects becoming more pronounced at higher concentrations. Additionally, the detection of normethketamine, the primary metabolite of ketamine, using UPLC-LTQ/Orbitrap HRMS, confirms the zebrafish's ability to metabolize the drug. This underscores the utility of zebrafish as a model organism for studying the impact of ketamine on behavior and metabolism, providing valuable insights that may extend to other vertebrates.