NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, naproxen, ketoprofen, and indomethacin
were determined in the watercourses of the river Elbe basin in Czech Republic. In the
study performed by Marsik et al. [5], ibuprofen was found to be the most abundant
drug with maximum concentration of 3,210 ng/L, followed by naproxen, diclofenac,
and ketoprofen (1,423.8 ng/L, 1,080 ng/L, and 929.8 ng/L, respectively). Indomethacin was found only at some sampling sites (maximum concentration of 69.3 ng/L)
[5]. Kot-Wasik et al. [11] showed that the most often detected pharmaceuticals in
water samples include ibuprofen (98% of samples), concluding that they may be
considered as pollution indicators of the aqueous environment in tested area and that
drugs concentrations were much higher in winter season, especially for NSAIDs,
probably due to the inhibited degradation related to lower temperatures and limited
sunlight [11].
The use of new technologies, with greater sensitivity and resolution, have allowed
the determination of pharmaceutical compounds in different water samples, for
instance, using a solid-phase extraction method based on multi-walled carbon
nanotubes, Reinholds and collaborators, in 2017, reported the presence of diclofenac
(1.7–8.4 ng/L) and ibuprofen (ranged between 1.0 and 9.2 ng/L) in surface water
samples from Latvia and Norway [21]. Also, Ruixue and co-workers demonstrated
for the first time the enantiospecific occurrence of NSAIDs in surface water in
Beijing, China, in the monitoring of 34 sites along rivers showed that ibuprofen
was the most abundant, with mean concentration of 114.9 ng/L and detection
frequency of 91%, naproxen was also detectable at all sites for maximal concentration of 43.2 ng/L, both presenting an excess of the S-(+)-enantiomer [22].
3 Toxic Effects of NSAIDs in Aquatic Organisms
Pharmaceuticals are becoming widely distributed in waters and wastewaters and
pose a serious threat to public health. There are a vast number of studies published
regarding their input, presence, effects, and risks in ecosystems [16, 23]. Since
medicine principles are designed to be effective at very low concentrations, they
have the potential to interfere with biochemical and physiological processes of
aquatic species over their entire life cycle. Besides, there is definitive evidence for
the adverse impacts of NSAID residues on scavenging birds and aquatic species, for
instance, ketoprofen, a widely used NSAID with comparable or even higher global
consumption than diclofenac, in the environment has been shown to present a
potential risk to nontarget terrestrial and aquatic species [4, 6, 9].
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been detected in the aquatic environment, but little is known about either their impact or mode of action in aquatic
organisms [24]. NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, and paracetamol are causing
increasing environmental concern due to their incomplete removal in wastewater
treatment plant and potential toxicity on endocrine, kidney, and reproduction in
teleost fish. Xia et al. [25] demonstrated that ibuprofen and diclofenac significantly
affected embryo locomotivity and were potentially neurotoxic, thus posing threats to
Overview of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs as Emerging Contaminants
45
were determined in the watercourses of the river Elbe basin in Czech Republic. In the
study performed by Marsik et al. [5], ibuprofen was found to be the most abundant
drug with maximum concentration of 3,210 ng/L, followed by naproxen, diclofenac,
and ketoprofen (1,423.8 ng/L, 1,080 ng/L, and 929.8 ng/L, respectively). Indomethacin was found only at some sampling sites (maximum concentration of 69.3 ng/L)
[5]. Kot-Wasik et al. [11] showed that the most often detected pharmaceuticals in
water samples include ibuprofen (98% of samples), concluding that they may be
considered as pollution indicators of the aqueous environment in tested area and that
drugs concentrations were much higher in winter season, especially for NSAIDs,
probably due to the inhibited degradation related to lower temperatures and limited
sunlight [11].
The use of new technologies, with greater sensitivity and resolution, have allowed
the determination of pharmaceutical compounds in different water samples, for
instance, using a solid-phase extraction method based on multi-walled carbon
nanotubes, Reinholds and collaborators, in 2017, reported the presence of diclofenac
(1.7–8.4 ng/L) and ibuprofen (ranged between 1.0 and 9.2 ng/L) in surface water
samples from Latvia and Norway [21]. Also, Ruixue and co-workers demonstrated
for the first time the enantiospecific occurrence of NSAIDs in surface water in
Beijing, China, in the monitoring of 34 sites along rivers showed that ibuprofen
was the most abundant, with mean concentration of 114.9 ng/L and detection
frequency of 91%, naproxen was also detectable at all sites for maximal concentration of 43.2 ng/L, both presenting an excess of the S-(+)-enantiomer [22].
3 Toxic Effects of NSAIDs in Aquatic Organisms
Pharmaceuticals are becoming widely distributed in waters and wastewaters and
pose a serious threat to public health. There are a vast number of studies published
regarding their input, presence, effects, and risks in ecosystems [16, 23]. Since
medicine principles are designed to be effective at very low concentrations, they
have the potential to interfere with biochemical and physiological processes of
aquatic species over their entire life cycle. Besides, there is definitive evidence for
the adverse impacts of NSAID residues on scavenging birds and aquatic species, for
instance, ketoprofen, a widely used NSAID with comparable or even higher global
consumption than diclofenac, in the environment has been shown to present a
potential risk to nontarget terrestrial and aquatic species [4, 6, 9].
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs have been detected in the aquatic environment, but little is known about either their impact or mode of action in aquatic
organisms [24]. NSAIDs such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, and paracetamol are causing
increasing environmental concern due to their incomplete removal in wastewater
treatment plant and potential toxicity on endocrine, kidney, and reproduction in
teleost fish. Xia et al. [25] demonstrated that ibuprofen and diclofenac significantly
affected embryo locomotivity and were potentially neurotoxic, thus posing threats to
Overview of Non-steroidal Anti-inflammatory Drugs as Emerging Contaminants
45