Mussels get higher: A study on the occurrence of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in seawater, sediment and mussels from a subtropical ecosystem (Santos Bay, Brazil)

Pharmaceutical Pollution and Disposal of Expired, Unused, and Unwanted Medicines in the Brazilian Context

“…Studies on the deleterious effects on wildlife caused by the presence of APIs and PCPPs in water matrices in Brazil include, for example, the alteration of reproductive parameters, cytogenotoxicity effects, and lysosomal membrane stability in brown mussel Perna perna, caused by the antihypertensive drug losartan in seawater [38]; alteration of gene expression in experimental zebrafish Danio rerio embryos with the increasing of EDC concentrations in Brazilian rivers [39]; bioaccumulation of cocaine and benzoylecgonine in brown mussel tissues due to the occurrence of these drug pollutants in marine water and sediments [40]. The presence of pharmaceuticals and hormones in untreated wastewater and their metabolites in treated and post-treat sewage effluents interfered with several biochemical parameters (e.g., oxidative damage and enzymatic activities) in the experimental freshwater tetra fish Astyanax bimaculatus [41].…”

Emerging Contaminants in Sediments as Markers of Anthropogenic Inputs in Santos Estuarine System: Analytical Method and Occurrence Data

“…Moreover, even when collected by sewage systems, after human consumption and excretion, these compounds are continuously released into SSES since local wastewater treatment plants only remove solids, without primary or secondary treatment prior disposal. 30 After release in the aquatic environment, estuarine discharges, tides and other oceanographic and physicochemical factors promote the spatial distribution of these molecules throughout the environmental compartments along the estuary. 6 Indeed, the high detection frequency and levels found nearby sources of treated (S1, S8, S12 and S13) and untreated (S3, S4, S5, S10 and S11) sewage denote unambiguous anthropogenic inputs of such emerging contaminants in SSES.…”

“…Moreover, the high ship and boat traffic in Santos port also contributed to aggravate pollution rates currently observed in SSES. 26 In fact, the occurrence of different classes and levels of contaminants including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 27 aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons, 25 antifouling biocides, 26 pharmaceuticals, 28 estrogens, 5 microplastics, 29 cocaine and benzoylecgonine 30 have been recently reported in environmental samples from SSES.…”

Aquatic Pollution and Risks to Biodiversity: The Example of Cocaine Effects on the Ovaries of Anguilla anguilla

“…However, quite recently, another class of pollutants has been discovered and frequently detected in aquatic environments worldwide, illicit drugs; their presence, together with their metabolites, comes from continuous and increasing drug use by humans. Indeed, these drugs are continuously discharged into aquatic environments and have been detected in municipal sewage treatment plants, surface and drinking water, seawater, marine sediment, and mussels [ 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. Unlike other pollutants, illicit drugs and their metabolites have psychoactive properties, in addition to having high biological activity; therefore, they can adversely affect not only physiology but also the behavior of aquatic biota [ 11 , 12 , 13 ].…”

“…After consumption, cocaine is rapidly metabolized; a total of 35–54% of the parent compound is hydrolyzed to benzoylecgonine (BE), 32–49% to ecgonine methyl ester (EME), 5% to norcocaine, and only 1–9% of the parent compound is excreted intact [ 15 , 16 ]. Cocaine has been detected in aquatic ecosystems around the world in concentrations ranging from ng L −1 to µg L −1 [ 7 , 9 , 10 , 17 , 18 , 19 ]. Once in the environment, cocaine may interact with non-target organisms and cause negative effects.…”