Plant growth responses as indicators of water contamination by hormones used by bodybuilders

Plants are used in the processes of ecotoxicological assessment of the state of the environment - the presence of pollutants, including emergent ones, and their possible impact on biota. Hormones that are widely used by bodybuilders and are found in trace amounts in water from various sources deserve attention as emergent pollutants. Given the need to determine the potential of the hormones testosterone and stanozolol as emergent pollutants and possible consequences for aquatic ecosystems, this study assessed the growth responses of Lepidium sativum L. under the influence of these hormones. The study contains the results of a laboratory model experiment of germination of test plant seeds under the influence of aqueous solutions of testosterone (from 30 ng/L to 3 × 10⁸ ng/L) and stanozolol (from 2 ng/L to 1 × 10⁶ ng/L). The growth indicators of L. sativum were evaluated: seed germination energy (3rd day), seed germination (5th day), root and shoot length of seedlings (5th day). The results were statistically processed using descriptive statistics and t-test to assess the statistical significance of differences between mean values. It was found that there were no statistically significant changes (indicators were within 100% relative to control) in the germination rate and morphometric characteristics of L. sativum under the action of testosterone and stanozolol both in the concentrations recorded in wastewater and at significantly higher levels (up to 10³-10⁶ times higher than ecologically significant concentrations). Therefore, the growth test parameters used have a relatively low sensitivity to the effects of testosterone and stanozolol in the conditions of a short-term model experiment. However, despite the lack of pronounced morphophysiological effects, the possibility of developing hidden biochemical, metabolic, or molecular changes in plant tissues, which may have cumulative and delayed consequences, is not excluded, which is a promising direction for further research.