Detection and quantification of residues and metabolites of medicinal products in environmental compartments, food commodities and workplaces. A review.

The toxicological assessment of medicinal products (MPs) and their residues and metabolites in the environment have become a challenging task worldwide. The contamination of environmental compartments, biota, workplace, foodstuff and feedstuff by residues and metabolites of these substances poses a risk to human health which is still far from being fully understood. On the other hand, existing analytical methods not always possess sufficient detection power to quantify residues of MPs at very low concentrations. This review sets forth some of the most significant contributions made in this field over the past decade with a special focus on novel fit-for-purpose analytical approaches for the detection, identification and quantification of these pollutants and the assessment of their noxious potential for human beings and the environment.

Bioaccumulation and biomagnification potential of pharmaceuticals with a focus to the aquatic environment.

Pharmaceuticals, among the emerging contaminants, are one of the most relevant groups of substances in aquatic ecosystems due to universal use, their chemico-physical properties and known mode of action in aquatic organisms at low concentrations. After administration many drugs and their transformation products are only retained to some extent in wastewater treatment plants therefore entering the aquatic environment in considerable high amounts. The yearly consumption to treat human and animal diseases, also in livestock and aquaculture was estimated to be hundred thousands tons per year leading to high concentrations in surface water of developed countries. Mostly, pharmaceutical residues in effluents of wastewater treatment plants or in the water column of surface waters have been reported, but data about concentrations in the aquatic biota, partitioning of pharmaceuticals to biosolids, soils, and sediments and the bioaccumulation properties are often lacking. Chronic and subtle effects can be expected when aquatic organisms are long term exposed by pseudo-persistent, persistent and accumulative compounds. This review aims to summarize the current state of research about the fate of pharmaceuticals regarding bioconcentration, bioaccumulation and potential biomagnification in aquatic ecosystems. More comprehensive approaches for the evaluation of environmental (ERA) and human health risk assessment (HRA) are included and analytical methods required to detect bioaccumulation of pharmaceuticals are discussed.

[A pilot study for the assessment of pharmaceuticals as water contaminants]. / Un primo contributo alla problematica dei farmaci come contaminanti delle acque.

Pharmaceuticals and their metabolites can reach water bodies through sewage systems, industrial discharges, effluents from sewage treatment facilities, aquaculture and livestock farming. Pharmaceuticals include a huge number of substances which are very different as regards their chemical and physical properties and environmental behaviour, although they many have a potent biochemical activity. At present, pharmaceuticals can reach levels of ng-microg l(-1) and some are considered ubiquitous. Nevertheless, their presence in the aquatic environment and their impact on aquatic biota and on human health have not yet been adequately studied. There is some experimental evidence that pharmaceuticals may cause harmful effects such as morphological and metabolic alterations on aquatic species and induction of antibiotic-resistance in aquatic pathogenic bacteria. Risk assessment studies are in progress.