Florfenicol, as a replacement for chloramphenicol, can tightly bind to the A site of the 23S rRNA in the 50S subunit of the 70S ribosome, thereby inhibiting protein synthesis and bacterial proliferation. Due to the widespread use in aquaculture and veterinary medicine, florfenicol has been detected in the aquatic environment worldwide. Concerns over the effects and health risks of florfenicol on target and non-target organisms have been raised in recent years. Although the ecotoxicity of florfenicol has been widely reported in different species, no attempt has been made to review the current research progress of florfenicol toxicity, hormesis, and its health risks posed to biota. In this study, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to summarize the effects of florfenicol on various organisms including bacteria, algae, invertebrates, fishes, birds, and mammals. The generation of antibiotic resistant bacteria and spread antibiotic resistant genes, closely associated with hormesis, are pressing environmental health issues stemming from overuse or misuse of antibiotics including florfenicol. Exposure to florfenicol at μg/L–mg/L induced hormetic effects in several algal species, and chromoplasts might serve as a target for florfenicol-induced effects; however, the underlying molecular mechanisms are completely lacking. Exposure to high levels (mg/L) of florfenicol modified the xenobiotic metabolism, antioxidant systems, and energy metabolism, resulting in hepatotoxicity, renal toxicity, immunotoxicity, developmental toxicity, reproductive toxicity, obesogenic effects, and hormesis in different animal species. Mitochondria and the associated energy metabolism are suggested to be the primary targets for florfenicol toxicity in animals, albeit further in-depth investigations are warranted for revealing the long-term effects (e.g., whole-life-cycle impacts, multigenerational effects) of florfenicol, especially at environmental levels, and the underlying mechanisms. This will facilitate the evaluation of potential hormetic effects and construction of adverse outcome pathways for environmental risk assessment and regulation of florfenicol.

氟苯尼考作为氯霉素的替代品，能与70S核糖体50S亚基中23S rRNA的A位点紧密结合，从而抑制蛋白质合成和细菌增殖。由于在水产养殖和兽医领域的广泛使用，全球水生环境中均检测到了氟苯尼考。近年来，人们越来越担心氟苯尼考对目标和非目标生物体的影响和健康风险。尽管氟苯尼考在不同物种中的生态毒性已被广泛报道，但目前尚未尝试综述氟苯尼考毒性、毒物兴奋效应及其对生物群造成的健康风险的研究进展。在这项研究中，进行了全面的文献综述，总结了氟苯尼考对各种生物体的影响，包括细菌、藻类、无脊椎动物、鱼类、鸟类和哺乳动物。与毒物兴奋效应密切相关的抗生素抗性细菌的产生和抗生素抗性基因的传播正在加剧因过度使用或滥用包括氟苯尼考在内的抗生素而引起的环境健康问题。暴露于μg/L-mg/L的氟苯尼考会在几种藻类中诱导毒物兴奋效应，并且有色体可能作为氟苯尼考诱导效应的目标；然而，根本缺乏潜在的分子机制。暴露于高浓度（mg/L）的氟苯尼考会改变异生物质代谢、抗氧化系统和能量代谢，导致不同动物物种的肝毒性、肾毒性、免疫毒性、发育毒性、生殖毒性、致肥效应和毒物兴奋效应。 线粒体和相关的能量代谢被认为是氟苯尼考对动物毒性的主要目标，尽管需要进一步深入研究以揭示氟苯尼考的​​长期影响（例如，全生命周期影响、多代影响），特别是在环境层面和根本机制方面。这将有助于评估潜在的毒效效应，并为氟苯尼考的​​环境风险评估和监管建立不良结果途径。