Current Trends and New Challenges in Marine Phycotoxins.

Marine phycotoxins are a multiplicity of bioactive compounds which are produced by microalgae and bioaccumulate in the marine food web. Phycotoxins affect the ecosystem, pose a threat to human health, and have important economic effects on aquaculture and tourism worldwide. However, human health and food safety have been the primary concerns when considering the impacts of phycotoxins. Phycotoxins toxicity information, often used to set regulatory limits for these toxins in shellfish, lacks traceability of toxicity values highlighting the need for predefined toxicological criteria. Toxicity data together with adequate detection methods for monitoring procedures are crucial to protect human health. However, despite technological advances, there are still methodological uncertainties and high demand for universal phycotoxin detectors. This review focuses on these topics, including uncertainties of climate change, providing an overview of the current information as well as future perspectives.

Problemática de la emisión de productos farmaceúticos al medio ambiente / Problems associated with the emission of pharmaceutical products to the environment

Se realiza una introducción a la problemática de la presencia de medicamentos de uso humano y veterinarios en el medio ambiente desde la década de los ochenta del pasado siglo hasta la actualidad, destacando las publicaciones y normas legislativas más importantes. Se analizan las actividades que generan estos productos (industria farmacéutica, consumo humano y animal y procesos de vertido y depuración) así como su principales vías de transporte en el medio. Se presentan datos de la concentraciones máximas de medicamentos en aguas, sedimentos y suelos, así como algunos ejemplos de estudios españoles. Se analizan los efectos sobre el hombre y los ecosistemas y se describen los métodos más utilizados para la evaluación de los riesgos sanitarios. Finalmente, se consideran las medidas de atenuación de los riesgos y en qué medida la farmacovigilancia puede tener en cuenta esta problemática

This review study considers the problems associated with the presence of human and veterinary pharmaceuticals in the environment since the 1980s and emphasizes the most important publications and legislation. The activities generating these products (the pharmaceutical industry, human and veterinary use and disposal and depuration processes) are outlined and the main routes of entry to the environment are identified. Data on the maximum concentrations of pharmaceuticals in waters, sediments and soils are presented, along with some examples of Spanish studies. The effects on man and on ecosystems are analysed and the methods most commonly used to evaluate health risks are described. Finally, measures of minimizing the risks and the extent to which pharmaceutical monitoring can address this problem are considered