Over-the-Counter Monocyclic Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs in Environment—Sources, Risks, Biodegradation

Recently, the increased use of monocyclic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs has resulted in their presence in the environment. This may have potential negative effects on living organisms. The biotransformation mechanisms of monocyclic nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the human body and in other mammals occur by hydroxylation and conjugation with glycine or glucuronic acid. Biotransformation/biodegradation of monocyclic non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in the environment may be caused by fungal or bacterial microorganisms. Salicylic acid derivatives are degraded by catechol or gentisate as intermediates which are cleaved by dioxygenases. The key intermediate of the paracetamol degradation pathways is hydroquinone. Sometimes, after hydrolysis of this drug, 4- aminophenol is formed, which is a dead-end metabolite. Ibuprofen is metabolized by hydroxylation or activation with CoA, resulting in the formation of isobutylocatechol. The aim of this work is to attempt to summarize the knowledge about environmental risk connected with the presence of over-the-counter antiinflammatory drugs, their sources and the biotransformation and/or biodegradation pathways of these drugs

Use of Agro-Industrial Waste in the Removal of Phenanthrene and Pyrene by Microbial Consortia in Soil

The addition of co-substrates as adjuvants to the bioremediation process enables almost complete removal of the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in the soil. The aim of this work was to associate biostimulation and bioaugmentation, represented respectively by the addition of residues from the processing of three oilseeds, and by the addition of consortia formed by Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Burkholderia cepacia strains, in the removal of phenanthrene and pyrene from a soil contaminated by a lubricating oil mixture containing approximately 50 mg/kg PAH. Three consortia were prepared from antimicrobial activity tests and each was stimulated with cotton, peanut or sesame cakes (20 and 40 mg/kg). The biodegradation tests were carried out on polyethylene reactors filled with 200 g of sandy soil. After 60 days incubation at room temperature, between 65 and 80% of the phenanthrene and pyrene was removed with preferential degradation of the three consortia by pyrene. In all cases, the most successful condition was obtained when the cake contents were added, independent of amount of contaminant content (40 or 80 mL/kg), emphasizing the importance of the use of co-substrate and reuse of agro-industrial wastes in bioremediation. Phytotoxicity assays demonstrated that Zea mays was the best indicator of soil fertility after treatment. © 2017, Springer Science+Business Media B.V