Ecotoxicological Effects of the Drug
Paracetamol: A Critical Review of Past
Ecotoxicity Assessments and Future
Perspectives
Bruno Nunes
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
1.1 Environmental Presence and Fate of Paracetamol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1.2 Ecotoxicological Effects Caused by Paracetamol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
1.3 Paracetamol Toxicity in Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
1.4 Toxic Effects of Paracetamol on Polychaetes and Mollusks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
1.5 Toxic Effects of Paracetamol on Crustaceans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
1.6 Toxic Effects of Paracetamol on Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
2 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Abstract Paracetamol (also designated as acetaminophen) has been systematically
reported to occur in the aquatic environment, giving rise to serious concerns related
to its ecotoxicological profile, final environmental fate, and potential biological
interactions. In fact, the existing data concerning the toxicology of such drug
shows its involvement in multiple adverse effects at several organs and tissues, a
reality that also occurs in aquatic organisms of varied types, trophic levels, and
habitats. From such data, it is possible to ascertain about the putative environmental
risk posed by such drug, namely, by exerting deleterious irreversible effects in
non-target organisms at low levels of exposure. The present article intends to
critically present a comprehensive series of studies addressing the ecotoxicity of
paracetamol, evidencing its deleterious nature, the extent of the problem, and
alternative methods to determine the potential threat that it may constitute.
B. Nunes (*)
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
e-mail: nunes.b@ua.pt
Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván (ed.), Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
in Water: Emerging Contaminants and Ecological Impact,
Hdb Env Chem (2020) 96: 131–146, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_546,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 9 July 2020
131
Paracetamol: A Critical Review of Past
Ecotoxicity Assessments and Future
Perspectives
Bruno Nunes
Contents
1 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132
1.1 Environmental Presence and Fate of Paracetamol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
1.2 Ecotoxicological Effects Caused by Paracetamol . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 134
1.3 Paracetamol Toxicity in Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
1.4 Toxic Effects of Paracetamol on Polychaetes and Mollusks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
1.5 Toxic Effects of Paracetamol on Crustaceans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
1.6 Toxic Effects of Paracetamol on Fish . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
2 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Abstract Paracetamol (also designated as acetaminophen) has been systematically
reported to occur in the aquatic environment, giving rise to serious concerns related
to its ecotoxicological profile, final environmental fate, and potential biological
interactions. In fact, the existing data concerning the toxicology of such drug
shows its involvement in multiple adverse effects at several organs and tissues, a
reality that also occurs in aquatic organisms of varied types, trophic levels, and
habitats. From such data, it is possible to ascertain about the putative environmental
risk posed by such drug, namely, by exerting deleterious irreversible effects in
non-target organisms at low levels of exposure. The present article intends to
critically present a comprehensive series of studies addressing the ecotoxicity of
paracetamol, evidencing its deleterious nature, the extent of the problem, and
alternative methods to determine the potential threat that it may constitute.
B. Nunes (*)
Departamento de Biologia, Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
Centro de Estudos do Ambiente e do Mar (CESAM), Universidade de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal
e-mail: nunes.b@ua.pt
Leobardo Manuel Gómez-Oliván (ed.), Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs
in Water: Emerging Contaminants and Ecological Impact,
Hdb Env Chem (2020) 96: 131–146, DOI 10.1007/698_2020_546,
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020, Published online: 9 July 2020
131