Biodegradation of Paracetamol by Native Fungal Species Inhabiting Wastewater of a Pharmaceutical Factory in Sana’a, Yemen

Abstract

Objectives: Paracetamol has emerged as an important environmental contaminant due to its extensive use. The purpose of this work was toisolate, identify, and characterize fungal species able to degrade paracetamol from pharmaceutical wastewater effluent at Sana'a City, Yemen. Methods: The fungi were isolated and purified from wastewater samples using enrichment and selective media. The isolated fungi were identified according to phenotypic characterization. Two species of isolated fungi were able to utilize the paracetamol as the sole of carbon and energy sources. These fungi were designated as F1 and F2 and identified as Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporium, respectively. Optimum temperature and pH for growth of both species were 25˚C and 6.0, respectively. Also, the biodegradation of paracetamol was influenced by glucose concentration. Results: F1 and F2 were able to degrade 35.7% and 26.1% of 1000 and 2000 mg/l, respectively, paracetamol in 60 days. This is the first report on the ability of Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporium to degrade paracetamol. Conclusion: The reported findings highlight the potential use of the isolated microorganisms for treatment of paracetamolcontaminated wastewater. Cite this article-Edrees WH, Abdullah QY, Naji KM, AL-Kaf AG. Biodegradation of paracetamol by native fungal species inhabiting wastewater of a pharmaceutical factory in Sana'a, Yemen.

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“…The optimized conditions were 25°C and pH 6.0 for both species with 37% biodegradation for A. niger with an initial concentration of 2000 mg L −1 and 26% for F. oxysporium with an initial concentration Some PAR metabolites from fungi or bacteria are described in the literature (Żur et al, 2018a;Rios-Miguel et al, 2022). Ferreira et al 10.3389/fmicb.2023.1207664 Frontiers in Microbiology 14 frontiersin.org of 1,000 mg L −1 after 60 days of reaction, indicating that fungi strains can also be employed as biodegradation agents in PAR biodegradation processes (Table 2, entry 46 and 47;Sana, 2018). Therefore, PAR can be degraded by different microorganisms, although bacteria were better explored than fungi for this purpose.…”

“…Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporium isolated from wastewater of a pharmaceutical industry located in Sana’a (Yemen) were assessed. The optimized conditions were 25°C and pH 6.0 for both species with 37% biodegradation for A. niger with an initial concentration of 2000 mg L −1 and 26% for F. oxysporium with an initial concentration of 1,000 mg L −1 after 60 days of reaction, indicating that fungi strains can also be employed as biodegradation agents in PAR biodegradation processes ( Table 2 , entry 46 and 47; Sana, 2018 ).…”