Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Case Study of Psychiatric Drugs

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Psychiatric Pharmaceuticals as Emerging Contaminants in Wastewater

Part of the book series: SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science ((GREENCHEMIST))

Abstract

The ecotoxicological assessment of pharmaceuticals is discussed in this chapter, under the light of a growing local and international legal framework that is meant to control the environmental impact of an intensive consumption of such molecules, mainly those used in psychiatric conditions. The specific pathways for pharmaceuticals metabolism are evaluated and the resulting accumulation of those medicines in different matrices is presented. Non-target organisms may suffer different effects when exposed to those pharmaceuticals or to their metabolites and the first attempts to quantify this contamination are reviewed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
eBook
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 16.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Almeida Â, Calisto V, Esteves VI, Schneider RJ, Soares AMVM, Figueira E, Freitas R (2014) Presence of the pharmaceutical drug carbamazepine in coastal systems: effects on bivalves. Aquat Toxicol 156:74–87

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Arnold KE, Brown AR, Ankley GT, Sumpter JP (2014) Medicating the environment: assessing risks of pharmaceuticals to wildlife and ecosystems, vols 369, 1656

    Google Scholar 

  • Beretta M, Britto V, Tavares T, da Silva S, Pletsch A (2014) Occurrence of pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) in marine sediments in the Todos os Santos Bay and the north coast of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil. J Soils Sediments 14(7):1278–1286

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Besse J-P, Kausch-Barreto C, Garric J (2008) Exposure assessment of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in the aquatic environment: application to the French situation and preliminary prioritization. Human Ecol Risk Assess Int J 14(4):665–695

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Boxall ABA, Kolpin DW, Halling-Sørensen B, Tolls J (2003) Peer reviewed: are veterinary medicines causing environmental risks? Environ Sci Technol 37(15):286A–294A

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brausch J, Connors K, Brooks B, Rand G (2012) Human pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment: a review of recent toxicological studies and considerations for toxicity testing. In: Whitacre DM (ed) Reviews of environmental contamination and toxicology, vol. Reviews of environmental contamination and toxicology. Springer, New York, pp 1–99

    Google Scholar 

  • Bringolf RB, Heltsley RM, Newton TJ, Eads CB, Fraley SJ, Shea D, Cope WG (2010) Environmental occurrence and reproductive effects of the pharmaceutical fluoxetine in native freshwater mussels. Environ Toxicol Chem 29(6):1311–1318

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brodin T, Fick J, Jonsson M, Klaminder J (2013) Dilute concentrations of a psychiatric drug alter behavior of fish from natural populations. Science 339(6121):814–815

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks BW, Chambliss CK, Stanley JK, Ramirez A, Banks KE, Johnson RD, Lewis RJ (2005) Determination of select antidepressants in fish from an effluent-dominated stream. Environ Toxicol Chem 24(2):464–469

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks BW, Foran CM, Richards SM, Weston J, Turner PK, Stanley JK, Solomon KR, Slattery M, La Point TW (2003a) Aquatic ecotoxicology of fluoxetine. Toxicol Lett 142(3):169–183

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks BW, Turner PK, Stanley JK, Weston JJ, Glidewell EA, Foran CM, Slattery M, La Point TW, Huggett DB (2003b) Waterborne and sediment toxicity of fluoxetine to select organisms. Chemosphere 52(1):135–142

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calisto V, Domingues MRM, Esteves VI (2011) Photodegradation of psychiatric pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments—kinetics and photodegradation products. Water Res 45(18):6097–6106

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Calisto V, Esteves VI (2009) Psychiatric pharmaceuticals in the environment. Chemosphere 77(10):1257–1274

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Carballa M, Omil F, Lema JM (2008) Comparison of predicted and measured concentrations of selected pharmaceuticals, fragrances and hormones in Spanish sewage. Chemosphere 72(8):1118–1123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chen M, Ohman K, Metcalfe C, Ikonomou MG, Amatya PL, Wilson J (2006) Pharmaceuticals and endocrine disruptors in wastewater treatment effluents and in the water supply system of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Water Qual Res J Can 41(4):351–364

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Chiffre A, Clérandeau C, Dwoinikoff C, Le Bihanic F, Budzinski H, Geret F, Cachot J (2014) Psychotropic drugs in mixture alter swimming behaviour of Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) larvae above environmental concentrations. Environ Sci Pollut Res

    Google Scholar 

  • Christen V, Hickmann S, Rechenberg B, Fent K (2010) Highly active human pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems: a concept for their identification based on their mode of action. Aquat Toxicol 96(3):167–181

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Contardo-Jara V, Lorenz C, Pflugmacher S, Nützmann G, Kloas W, Wiegand C (2011) Exposure to human pharmaceuticals Carbamazepine, Ibuprofen and Bezafibrate causes molecular effects in Dreissena polymorpha. Aquat Toxicol 105(3–4):428–437

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Daughton CG, Ternes TA (1999) Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in the environment: agents of subtle change? Environ Health Perspect 107(Suppl 6):907–938

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deblonde T, Cossu-Leguille C, Hartemann P (2011) Emerging pollutants in wastewater: a review of the literature. Int J Hyg Environ Health 214(6):442–448

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • DeVane CL, Liston HL, Markowitz JS (2002) Clinical pharmacokinetics of sertraline. Clin Pharmacokinet 41(15):1247–1266

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • FDA-CDER (1998) Guidance for industry, environmental assessment of human drug and biologics applications

    Google Scholar 

  • Fent K, Weston AA, Caminada D (2006) Ecotoxicology of human pharmaceuticals. Aquat Toxicol 76(2):122–159

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fong PP (1998) Zebra mussel spawning is induced in low concentrations of putative serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Biol Bull 194(2):143–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fong PP, Molnar N (2008) Norfluoxetine induces spawning and parturition in estuarine and freshwater bivalves. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 81(6):535–538

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Foster HR, Burton GA, Basu N, Werner EE (2010) Chronic exposure to fluoxetine (Prozac) causes developmental delays in Rana pipiens larvae. Environ Toxicol Chem 29(12):2845–2850

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Fuller RW, Hemrick-Luecke SK, Littlefield ES, Audia JE (1995) Comparison of desmethylsertraline with sertraline as a monoamine uptake inhibitor in vivo. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 19(1):135–149

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Furuhagen S, Fuchs A, Lundström Belleza E, Breitholtz M, Gorokhova E (2014) Are pharmaceuticals with evolutionary conserved molecular drug targets more potent to cause toxic effects in non-target organisms? PLoS ONE 9(8):e105028

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Galbraith A, Bullock S, Manias S, Hunt B, Richards A (2004) Pharmacokinetics: absorption and distribution. In: Fundamentals of pharmacology: a text for nurses and health professionals, 4th edn. Pearson Education Limited, Harlow

    Google Scholar 

  • Gaworecki KM, Klaine SJ (2008) Behavioral and biochemical responses of hybrid striped bass during and after fluoxetine exposure. Aquat Toxicol 88(4):207–213

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ginebreda A, Muñoz I, de Alda ML, Brix R, López-Doval J, Barceló D (2010) Environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals in rivers: relationships between hazard indexes and aquatic macroinvertebrate diversity indexes in the Llobregat River (NE Spain). Environ Int 36(2):153–162

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gust M, Buronfosse T, Giamberini L, Ramil M, Mons R, Garric J (2009) Effects of fluoxetine on the reproduction of two prosobranch mollusks: Potamopyrgus antipodarum and Valvata piscinalis. Environ Pollut 157(2):423–429

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gust M, Fortier M, Garric J, Fournier M, Gagné F (2013) Effects of short-term exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of different pharmaceutical mixtures on the immune response of the pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis. Sci Total Environ 445–446:210–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halling-Sørensen B, Nors Nielsen S, Lanzky PF, Ingerslev F, Holten Lützhøft HC, Jørgensen SE (1998) Occurrence, fate and effects of pharmaceutical substances in the environment—a review. Chemosphere 36(2):357–393

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hampel M, Bron JE, Taggart JB, Leaver MJ (2014) The antidepressant drug Carbamazepine induces differential transcriptome expression in the brain of Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar. Aquat Toxicol 151:114–123

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Henry TB, Kwon JW, Armbrust KL, Black MC (2004) Acute and chronic toxicity of five selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in Ceriodaphnia dubia. Environ Toxicol Chem 23(9):2229–2233

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • IWW (2014) Pharmaceuticals in the environment: occurrence, effects, and options for action. Research project funded by the German Federal Environment Agency (UBA) within the Environmental Research Plan No. 3712 65 408 (http://www.pharmaceuticals-in-the-environment.org)

  • Johnson DJ, Sanderson H, Brain RA, Wilson CJ, Solomon KR (2007) Toxicity and hazard of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, and sertraline to algae. Ecotoxicol Environ Saf 67(1):128–139

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones OAH, Voulvoulis N, Lester JN (2001) Human pharmaceuticals in the aquatic environment a review. Environ Technol 22(12):1383–1394

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jones OAH, Voulvoulis N, Lester JN (2005) Human pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment processes. Crit Rev Environ Sci Technol 35(4):401–427

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jr AJA, Abernethy DR, Daniels CE, Dedrick RL, Markey SP (2007) Principles of clinical pharmacology, 2nd edn. Academic Press, Millbrae

    Google Scholar 

  • Kolpin DW, Furlong ET, Meyer MT, Thurman EM, Zaugg SD, Barber LB, Buxton HT (2002) Pharmaceuticals, hormones, and other organic wastewater contaminants in U.S. Streams, 1999–2000: a national reconnaissance. Environ Sci Technol 36(6):1202–1211

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kümmerer K (2009) The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment due to human use—present knowledge and future challenges. J Environ Manage 90(8):2354–2366

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsson DGJ, de Pedro C, Paxeus N (2007) Effluent from drug manufactures contains extremely high levels of pharmaceuticals. J Hazard Mater 148(3):751–755

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lilius H, Hästbacka T, Isomaa B (1995) Short communication: a comparison of the toxicity of 30 reference chemicals to Daphnia magna and Daphnia pulex. Environ Toxicol Chem 14(12):2085–2088

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lolić A, Paíga P, Santos LHML, Ramos S, Correia M, Delerue-Matos C (2015) Assessment of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory and analgesic pharmaceuticals in seawaters of North of Portugal: occurrence and environmental risk. Sci Total Environ 508:240–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • López-Serna R, Petrović M, Barceló D (2012) Occurrence and distribution of multi-class pharmaceuticals and their active metabolites and transformation products in the Ebro River basin (NE Spain). Sci Total Environ 440:280–289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Madureira TV, Cruzeiro C, Rocha MJ, Rocha E (2011a) The toxicity potential of pharmaceuticals found in the Douro River estuary (Portugal)-experimental assessment using a zebrafish embryo test. Environ Toxicol Pharmacol 32(2):212–217

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Madureira TV, Rocha MJ, Cruzeiro C, Galante MH, Monteiro RAF, Rocha E (2011b) The toxicity potential of pharmaceuticals found in the Douro River estuary (Portugal): assessing impacts on gonadal maturation with a histopathological and stereological study of zebrafish ovary and testis after sub-acute exposures. Aquat Toxicol 105(3–4):292–299

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Minguez L, Ballandonne C, Rakotomalala C, Dubreule C, Kientz-Bouchart V, Halm-Lemeille M-P (2015) transgenerational effects of two antidepressants (Sertraline and Venlafaxine) on Daphnia magna life history traits. Environ Sci Technol 49(2):1148–1155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mohapatra DP, Brar SK, Tyagi RD, Picard P, Surampalli RY (2014) Analysis and advanced oxidation treatment of a persistent pharmaceutical compound in wastewater and wastewater sludge-carbamazepine. Sci Total Environ 470–471:58–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Monteiro S, Boxall AA (2010) Occurrence and fate of human pharmaceuticals in the environment. In: Reviews of environmental contamination and toxicology, vol 202. Reviews of environmental contamination and toxicology. Springer, New York, pp 53–154

    Google Scholar 

  • OECD (2014) Pharmaceutical consumption, Health at a glance: Europe 2014

    Google Scholar 

  • Oliveira M, Cardoso DN, Soares AMVM, Loureiro S (2015) Effects of short-term exposure to fluoxetine and carbamazepine to the collembolan Folsomia candida. Chemosphere 120:86–91

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pascoe D, Karntanut W, Müller CT (2003) Do pharmaceuticals affect freshwater invertebrates? A study with the cnidarian Hydra vulgaris. Chemosphere 51(6):521–528

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pereira AMPT, Silva LJG, Meisel LM, Lino CM, Pena A (2015) Environmental impact of pharmaceuticals from Portuguese wastewaters: geographical and seasonal occurrence, removal and risk assessment. Environ Res 136:108–119

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Ramirez AJ, Mottaleb MA, Brooks BW, Chambliss CK (2007) Analysis of pharmaceuticals in fish using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Anal Chem 79:3155–3163

    Google Scholar 

  • Rand-Weaver M, Margiotta-Casaluci L, Patel A, Panter GH, Owen SF, Sumpter JP (2013) The read-across hypothesis and environmental risk assessment of pharmaceuticals. Environ Sci Technol 47(20):11384–11395

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richards SM, Cole SE (2006) A toxicity and hazard assessment of fourteen pharmaceuticals to Xenopus laevis larvae. Ecotoxicology 15(8):647–656

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Richardson ML, Bowron JM (1985) The fate of pharmaceutical chemicals in the aquatic environment. J Pharm Pharmacol 37(1):1–12

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rogers HR (1996) Sources, behaviour and fate of organic contaminants during sewage treatment and in sewage sludges. Sci Total Environ 185(1–3):3–26

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • SAICM (2014) Pharmaceuticals in the environment—the global perspective. Occurrence, effects, and potential cooperative action under SAICM, Germany

    Google Scholar 

  • Saussereau E, Lacroix C, Guerbet M, Cellier D, Spiroux J, Goullé J-P (2013) Determination of levels of current drugs in hospital and urban wastewater. Bull Environ Contam Toxicol 91(2):171–176

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Silva LJG, Pereira AMPT, Meisel LM, Lino CM, Pena A (2014) A one-year follow-up analysis of antidepressants in Portuguese wastewaters: occurrence and fate, seasonal influence, and risk assessment. Sci Total Environ 490:279–287

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verlicchi P, Al Aukidy M, Galletti A, Petrovic M, Barceló D (2012a) Hospital effluent: investigation of the concentrations and distribution of pharmaceuticals and environmental risk assessment. Sci Total Environ 430:109–118

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Verlicchi P, Al Aukidy M, Zambello E (2012b) Occurrence of pharmaceutical compounds in urban wastewater: removal, mass load and environmental risk after a secondary treatment—a review. Sci Total Environ 429:123–155

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Waggot A (1981) Trace organic substances in the River Lee (Great Britain). Chemistry in water reuse. Ann Arbour Science

    Google Scholar 

  • Weigel S, Berger U, Jensen E, Kallenborn R, Thoresen H, Hühnerfuss H (2004) Determination of selected pharmaceuticals and caffeine in sewage and seawater from Tromsø/Norway with emphasis on ibuprofen and its metabolites. Chemosphere 56(6):583–592

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Wilkinson GR (2001) Pharmacokinetics: the dynamic of drug absorption, distribution and elimination. Goodman & Gilman’s—the pharmacological basis of therapeutics, 10th edn. McGraw-Hill, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Yuan S, Jiang X, Xia X, Zhang H, Zheng S (2013) Detection, occurrence and fate of 22 psychiatric pharmaceuticals in psychiatric hospital and municipal wastewater treatment plants in Beijing, China. Chemosphere 90(10):2520–2525

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zuccato E, Castiglioni S, Fanelli R, Reitano G, Bagnati R, Chiabrando C, Pomati F, Rossetti C, Calamari D (2006) Pharmaceuticals in the environment in Italy: causes, occurrence, effects and control. Environ Sci Pollut Res 13(1):15–21

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centre of Biological Engineering, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Bruna Silva & Filomena Costa

  2. Centre of Chemistry, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Isabel C. Neves & Teresa Tavares

Authors
  1. Bruna Silva
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Filomena Costa
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Isabel C. Neves
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Teresa Tavares
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2015 The Author(s)

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Silva, B., Costa, F., Neves, I.C., Tavares, T. (2015). Pharmaceuticals in the Environment: Case Study of Psychiatric Drugs. In: Psychiatric Pharmaceuticals as Emerging Contaminants in Wastewater. SpringerBriefs in Molecular Science(). Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-20493-2_2

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation