Abstract:

Previous studies about steroid hormones, a group of potent endocrine-disrupting compounds, mostly focused on estrogens, however, the usage of glucocorticoids is far more than that of estrogens and androgens. Based on the fact that glucocorticoids have been proven to be effective on COVID-19 hospitalized patients, their usage may continue increasing during the global pandemic. Thus, it is of great importance to know about the source and sink of glucocorticoids and to understand their fate and ecological effects in order to assess and control their potential risks. The objective of this review was to summarize relevant literature and point out potential knowledge gap for future studies pertaining to glucocorticoids. It turns out that pharmaceutical factories, hospitals, concentrated animal feeding operation, and sewage treatment plants are the main sources of glucocorticoids. They are detected with frequencies of 50%-100% in multiple rivers and lakes at levels of up to 500 ng·L^-1 in aqueous phase and 1.10-5.85 μg·kg^-1 in sediment. With better hydrophilicity, glucocorticoids are supposed to have better mobility in aquatic system compared with other steroid hormones, resulting in their occurrence in groundwater. Future studies about the fate of glucocorticoids could place emphases on their precursors and metabolites, the impact of suspended particles and organic matter on their environmental behavior, and their interaction with other contaminants. There have been abundant researches about the toxicological effects of glucocorticoids on human and fishes, however, their effects remain unclear on other organisms of different trophic levels as well as on food chain and food web, which require further studies.

Key words: glucocorticoids, sources, occurrence, environmental behavior, ecotoxicology

摘要：

甾体激素是一类强效的内分泌干扰物,早先的研究重点在于最先发现的雌激素,而实际上糖皮质激素（Glucocorticoids,GCs）的使用量远大于雌激素和雄激素,并且GCs对COVID-19确诊病人的治疗效果得到广泛肯定。在新冠疫情全球爆发的大背景下,GCs的使用量还可能持续增加。因此,了解GCs在水环境中的源和汇,掌握其在环境中的赋存归趋和生态毒理效应,对评估和控制GCs的潜在风险具有重要意义。文章对此进行文献调研和总结,为进一步开展GCs的环境行为研究提供参考。GCs主要来源于制药厂、医院、养殖场以及污水处理厂,其在多个河流湖泊中检出率为50%—100%,水相质量浓度最高可接近500 ng·L^-1,在沉积物中为1.10—5.85 μg·kg^-1。GCs的亲水性强于其他甾体激素,其在水环境的迁移性可能更强,因此在地下水中也有检出。在环境赋存和归趋的研究中,未来可重点关注常见GCs的前体物及代谢产物、悬浮颗粒和有机质等对GCs环境行为的影响,以及GCs与其他类污染物在不同环境过程中的相互作用。在毒理研究方面,针对GCs对人体健康以及对鱼类影响的研究较多,但对其他营养级生物以及食物链和食物网影响的研究则有待进一步开展,这样才能为更科学地评价GCs的生态风险提供理论支撑。

关键词: 糖皮质激素, 来源, 赋存, 环境行为, 生态风险