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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Occurrence of caffeine, fluoxetine, bezafibrate and levothyroxine in surface freshwater of Sao Paulo State (Brazil) and risk assessment for aquatic life protection

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Author(s):
de Souza, Raquel Cardoso [1] ; Godoy, Aline Andrade [1, 2] ; Kummrow, Fabio [3] ; dos Santos, Thyago Leandro [1] ; Brandao, Carlos Jesus [4] ; Pinto, Ernani [1]
Total Authors: 6
Affiliation:
[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Fac Pharmaceut Sci, Dept Clin & Toxicol Analyses, Ave Prof Lineu Prestes 580, BR-05508000 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil
[2] Fed Univ Alfenas Unifal MG, Sci & Technol Inst, Rodovia Jose Aurelio Vilela 11999, BR-37715400 Pocos De Caldas, MG - Brazil
[3] Fed Univ Sao Paulo Unifesp, Inst Environm Chem & Pharmaceut Sci, Rua Sao Nicolau 210, BR-09972270 Diadema, SP - Brazil
[4] Environm Co State Sao Paulo CETESB, Av Prof Frederico Hermann Jr 345, BR-05459900 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 4
Document type: Journal article
Source: Environmental Science and Pollution Research; v. 28, n. 16, p. 20751-20761, APR 2021.
Web of Science Citations: 0
Abstract

The prioritization of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) for monitoring programmes and/or environmental risk assessment (ERA) purposes is based on several criteria, including environmental occurrence data. However, data on API occurrence in Brazilian surface freshwaters are still scarce. The Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) provides several medicines free-of-charge, including medications that have bezafibrate, fluoxetine and levothyroxine as the API. Thus, our objective was to investigate the occurrence of bezafibrate, fluoxetine and levothyroxine in samples collected at sampling sites included in the surface freshwater monitoring program of the Sao Paulo State Environmental Agency (CETESB); caffeine was also included in the analysis because it is commonly used as an anthropogenic marker of aquatic environment contamination. Monitoring results showed that levothyroxine was not found in any of the analysed samples. Caffeine was ubiquitous in the analysed samples, thus indicating anthropic contamination in the studied water bodies. Caffeine and bezafibrate presented risk quotient (RQ) < 1 for all the sampling sites and periods evaluated in this study. For fluoxetine, RQs > 1 were found in all water samples in which this API was found, indicating a potential risk for freshwater pelagic biota. Thus, fluoxetine should be regulated in Sao Paulo State in order to protect the aquatic biota. Additional occurrence studies in other Brazilian states are still needed to evaluate if fluoxetine is a nationwide pollutant. (AU)