Comparison of praziquantel pharmacokinetics and tissue distribution in fresh and brackish water cultured grass carp ( ctenopharyngodon idellus ) after oral administration of single bolus

Background Praziquantel (PZQ) is an effective pesticide against monogeneans. Its pharmacokinetics in fish may be affected by water environment and temperature. The present study was designed to compare the pharmacokinetics, tissue distribution, and elimination of PZQ in freshwater-acclimated grass carp and brackish water cultured grass carp. Plasma and tissue PZQ concentrations were determined after a single 10 mg/kg oral PZQ dose. Results The datas of plasma and tissues drug concentration was calculated by the software SPSS 13.0. According to the One-Way ANOVA, the results showed that the salinity had a significant effect on the drug concentration of plasma ( p < 0.01), muscle ( p < 0.01), liver ( p < 0.01) and kidney ( p < 0.01) in the all sampling time points between the brackish water grass carps and the freshwater grass carps, wherein, PZQ plasma and tissue concentrations in the brackish water group were constantly lower than that in the freshwater group. The peak PZQ levels of plasma, muscle, liver, and kidneys in the brackish water group were 0.76 μg/ml, 0.51 μg/g, 2.7 μg/g, and 2.99 μg/g, respectively; and that in the freshwater group were 0.91 μg/ml, 0.62 μg/g, 3.87 μg/g, and 3.39 μg/g, respectively. The elimination half-lives (t 1/2β ) in plasma and all tissues of the freshwater group were significantly longer than that in the brackish water group. The elimination half-lives (t 1/2β ) of plasma, muscle, liver and kidneys in brackish water grass carps were 56.46, 36.17, 15.31, and 132.64 h, respectively; and that in the freshwater grass carps were 71.15, 44.88, 23.86, and 150.23 h, respectively. Conclusion These findings indicate that water environment affects the tissue distribution and elimination of PZQ in grass carps, the elimination in brackish water grass carps is more rapid than that in fresh water grass carps and tissue concentrations of brackish water grass carps are lower than that in freshwater grass carps after orally administrating the same dosage at the same water temperature. We speculate that the main excretion pathway of the drug is through renal elimination, and the decreased kidney function in brackish water grass carps is likely responsible for the considerable difference in pharmacokinetics between the two groups of grass carps.