Wastewater reuse and pharmaceutical pollution in agriculture: Uptake, transport, accumulation and metabolism of pharmaceutical pollutants within plants

Mosharaf, Md Khaled; Gomes, Rachel L.; Cook, Sarah; Alam, Mohammed S.; Rasmusssen, Amanda

Abstract

The presence of pharmaceutical pollutants in water sources has become a growing concern due to its potential impacts on human health and other organisms. The physicochemical properties of pharmaceuticals based on their intended therapeutical application, which include antibiotics, hormones, analgesics, and antidepressants, is quite diverse. Their presence in wastewater, sewerage water, surface water, ground water and even in drinking water is reported by many researchers throughout the world. Human exposure to these pollutants through drinking water or consumption of aquatic and terrestrial organisms has raised concerns about potential adverse effects, such as endocrine disruption, antibiotic resistance, and developmental abnormalities. Once in the environment, they can persist, undergo transformation, or degrade, leading to a complex mixture of contaminants. Application of treated wastewater, compost, manures or biosolids in agricultural fields introduce pharmaceutical pollutants in the environment. As pharmaceuticals are diverse in nature, significant differences are observed during their uptake and accumulation in plants. While there have been extensive studies on aquatic ecosystems, the effect on agricultural land is more disparate. As of now, there are few reports available on the potential of plant uptake and transportation of pharmaceuticals within and between plant organs. This review summarizes the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in aquatic water bodies at a range of concentrations and their uptake, accumulation, and transport within plant tissues. Research gaps on pharmaceutical pollutants’ specific effect on plant growth and future research scopes are highlighted. The factors affecting uptake of pharmaceuticals including hydrophobicity, ionization, physicochemical properties (pKa, logKow, pH, Henry’s law constant) are discussed. Finally, metabolism of pharmaceuticals within plant cells through metabolism phase enzymes and plant responses to pharmaceuticals are reviewed.

Citation

Mosharaf, M. K., Gomes, R. L., Cook, S., Alam, M. S., & Rasmusssen, A. (2024). Wastewater reuse and pharmaceutical pollution in agriculture: Uptake, transport, accumulation and metabolism of pharmaceutical pollutants within plants. Chemosphere, 364, Article 143055. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143055

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 6, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Aug 13, 2024
• Publication Date: 2024-09
• Deposit Date: Aug 9, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 14, 2024
• Journal: Chemosphere
• Print ISSN: 0045-6535
• Electronic ISSN: 1879-1298
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 364
• Article Number: 143055
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2024.143055
• Keywords: Contaminants of emerging concern; pharmaceutical pollutants; environmental impact; plant uptake; pharmaceutical metabolism in plant; wastewater
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/38116241
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0045653524019507