Plant Uptake of Pharmaceutical Chemicals Detected in Recycled Organic Manure and Reclaimed Wastewater

Abstract

Land application of recycled manure produced from biosolids and reclaimed wastewater can transfer pharmaceutical chemicals to terrestrial environments, giving rise to potential accumulation of these residues in edible plants. In this study, the potential for plant uptake of 13 pharmaceutical chemicals, and the relation between the accumulation features within the plant and the physicochemical properties were examined by exposing pea and cucumber to an aqueous solution containing pharmaceutical chemicals. Ten of 13 compounds tested were detected in plant leaves and stems. Comparison of the plant uptake characteristics and the octanol-water partition coefficient of pharmaceutical chemicals showed that compounds with an intermediate polarity such as carbamazepine and crotamiton could be easily transported to plant shoots. Moreover, these results suggest the possibility of highly hydrophilic pharmaceutical chemicals such as trimethoprim and sulfonamides to be accumulated in plant roots owing to their low permeability in root cell membranes.

Comparison of accelerated solvent extraction and quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe method for extraction and determination of pharmaceuticals in vegetables

“…Pharmaceuticals could be taken up by crop/vegetable produce from agricultural lands, and enter humans and animals through food chains [1][2][3][4][5]. The human health impacts of chronic exposure to trace levels of bioactive pharmaceutical chemicals are largely unknown.…”

Sustainability in Phosphorus Use: A Question of Water and Food Security

“…[94][95][96][97][98][99][100][101][102] Portanto, o uso de lodo na agricultura bem como de excrementos humanos exige uma atenção especial a fim de evitar sérios danos ao ambiente e aos organismos diretamente expostos, incluindo os seres humanos. [103][104][105][106][107][108][109] Em termos de fluxo do nutriente, entre a sua extração e consumo, ocorrem grandes perdas de fósforo no sistema produtivo. Do total de P extraído, apenas 20% são efetivamente absorvidos pelas plantas.…”

The role of forward osmosis and microfiltration in an integrated osmotic-microfiltration membrane bioreactor system

“…It has been demonstrated that the occurrence of pharmaceuticals, such as carbamazepine and triclocarban, in reclaimed wastewater (Tanoue et al, 2012) and biosolids (Wu et al, 2012) used to grow fruits and vegetables can bio-accumulate in edible parts of these produces. Therefore, a major technical challenge for the water industry is to develop new treatment processes that can reliably and cost-effectively remove these TrOCs during water reuse.…”