Screening of Emerging Pollutants (EPs) in Estuarine Water and Phytoremediation Capacity of Tripolium pannonicum under Controlled Conditions

authored by: Ariel E. Turcios, Bernardo Duarte, Vanessa F. Fonseca, Jutta Papenbrock, Marie Hielscher, Isabel Caçador.
Abstract: The increasing number of pharmaceuticals in the environment and their difficult biodegra-dation, can lead to bioaccumulation in different trophic compartments. Their bioaccumulation can have negative consequences, especially in the generation of bacterial resistance by antibiotics, but also in the impairment of plant and animal metabolism. The Tejo estuary in Portugal is the habitat for many plant and animal species, which are also prone to this type of contamination. There-fore, in the present study different classes of emerging pollutants (EPs) were surveyed in water samples in the Tejo estuary, including antibiotics, anticonvulsants, antidepressants, lipid-lowering drugs, anti-inflammatory drugs, beta-blockers and analgesics. According to the results, only four compounds were detected in water samples collected at the three selected salt marshes, including carbamazepine, fluoxetine hydrochloride, venlafaxine hydrochloride and acetaminophen. Having the detected substances as a basis, a subsequent study was performed aiming to investigate the uptake and biodegradation capacity of halophytes, using Tripolium pannonicum as a model plant culti-vated under controlled conditions with different concentrations of the found EPs. This experimental approach showed that T. pannonicum was able to uptake and degrade xenobiotics. Moreover, the application of sulfamethazine, as a model antibiotic, showed also that this species can uptake and degrade this compound, although the degradation rate and process proved to be compound-specific. This was also confirmed using crude plant extracts spiked with the different EPs. Thus this species is a potential candidate for the remediation of marine water and sediments contaminated with environmentally-significant EPs.
Organisation(s): Institute of Botany
External Organisation(s): Universidade de Lisboa
Type: Article
Journal: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Volume: 18
No. of pages: 17
ISSN: 1661-7827
Publication date: 22.01.2021
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being, SDG 14 - Life Below Water
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18030943 (Access: Open)