Potential of an estuarine salt marsh plant (Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steud10751) for phytoremediation of bezafibrate and paroxetine

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the potential of a salt marsh plant and its rhizosphere microorganisms for the removal of two pharmaceutical compounds, bezafibrate and paroxetine, from estuarine environment. Plants were exposed for 7 days to a simplified estuarine medium, elutriate solution with or without sediment, doped with bezafibrate or paroxetine. Tests were done in absence and presence of nutrients or copper. Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin. Ex Steud, alone or with the sediment microbial communities, contributed for pharmaceuticals removal. In the presence of P. australis, for paroxetine a 65% removal was observed. Removal increased up to 90% when sediment was present. For bezafibrate, removals reached ca. 47% in P. australis presence, increasing to ca. 70% when nutrients were added to the medium, indicating a good nutritional state can contribute for a higher compound removal. When Cu was added, 75% removal for bezafibrate and 95% removal for paroxetine were observed indicating the metal might influence the removal of the pharmaceuticals. Overall, the plant and its rhizosediments and associated microorganisms showed potential for pharmaceuticals removal from estuaries, eventually degrading the selected compounds, a feature requiring more research. Results indicate that phytoremediation could be a viable option for eliminating/diminishing

Pharmaceuticals Influence on Phragmites australis Phytoremediation Potential in Cu Contaminated Estuarine Media

“…The pharmaceuticals chosen to be tested are representatives of extensively used ones: bezafibrate and paroxetine. P. australis was chosen due to its potential of phytoremediation of different types of compounds, including metals (e.g., [21,22,33]) and pharmaceuticals (e.g., [13,24,25]. In parallel, this study also aimed to confirm in situ the role of different salt marsh plants on metal retention previously observed by collecting sediment samples in vegetated and non-vegetated locations.…”

“…Other CECs sources into the environment are illegal untreated effluent discharges, improper disposal of unused or expired pharmaceuticals, manufacture spill accidents, manure and sludge used as organic fertilizer, treatment of crop diseases, and sometimes through leachates from solid waste landfills. Paroxetine (an antidepressant) and bezafibrate (a lipid regulator) are two examples of pharmaceuticals regularly found in effluents from WWTPs in Portugal [12][13][14]. Their use by the general population leads to their presence in the wastewater entering WWTPs, for instance.…”

“…Salt marsh plants have been studied to control pollution by phytoremediation [19,21,22], concluding that plants such as Juncus maritimus, Phragmites australis, Spartina patens, Triglochin striata, and Spartina alterniflora have the potential to treat estuaries contaminated with metals and hydrocarbons. More recently, the potential of a plant that can also be found in salt marsh, e.g., P. australis, to remove CECs from water or sediment contaminated with pharmaceuticals, has been evaluated in a few studies, showing promising results [13,[23][24][25]. Frequently, sites polluted with metals are also polluted with other chemicals of different natures, for instance, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides and surfactants [26,27], and CECs can also be expected at these environments.…”

“…Frequently, sites polluted with metals are also polluted with other chemicals of different natures, for instance, petroleum hydrocarbons, pesticides and surfactants [26,27], and CECs can also be expected at these environments. The simultaneous presence of inorganic and organic contaminants has been shown to affect the response of the salt marsh communities and, consequently, the phytoremediation process [13,26,[28][29][30][31][32]. Indeed, the response of plants to the surrounding chemical environment, in terms of metal accumulation and contaminants bioavailability, may be influenced by the concomitant presence of different chemicals [28].…”

Livestock Wastewater Treatment in Constructed Wetlands for Agriculture Reuse

“…A possible methodology to treat livestock wastewater is phytoremediation. Based on natural processes, phytoremediation is an efficient and extensively employed environmental cleanup biotechnology, that uses plants and associated microorganisms to remove, accumulate, metabolize, absorb and/or degrade organic and inorganic pollutants [ 9 , 16 ]. Phytoremediation has been shown to be an efficient process for removing metals from wastewater and this technology can have a key role when integrated in constructed wetlands (CWs) [ 9 ].…”