It is confirmed that pharmaceutical pollutants represent a multidimensional One Health challenge and primary recommendations include strengthening pharmaceutical waste management systems and medication take-back programs and implementing advanced wastewater treatment technologies.
Abstract
The proliferation of pharmaceutical residues as emerging contaminants presents growing concerns for environmental and human health worldwide. These pollutants originate from diverse sources and persist across environmental matrices. This systematic review aims to synthesize current evidence on pharmaceutical contamination and its implications for human and ecosystem health within a One Health framework. A comprehensive literature search was conducted across PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and Google Scholar. Out of 500 records screened, 46 peer-reviewed studies met the eligibility criteria following PRISMA guidelines. Study quality was assessed using the CASP checklist and Newcastle–Ottawa Scale. Studies were thematically categorized into occupational exposure (n = 4), adverse drug reactions/antimicrobial resistance (n = 7), waste disposal (n = 14), environmental contamination (n = 6), and epidemiological trends (n = 15). Pharmaceutical residues including antibiotics, analgesics, antidepressants, and hormones were detected in surface waters, groundwater, soils, and biota at concentrations capable of disrupting physiological processes. Documented effects include endocrine disruption, neurotoxicity, reproductive toxicity, and propagation of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This review confirms that pharmaceutical pollutants represent a multidimensional One Health challenge. Primary recommendations include: (1) strengthening pharmaceutical waste management systems and medication take-back programs; (2) implementing advanced wastewater treatment technologies (ozonation, activated carbon); (3) expanding environmental monitoring programs in low- and middle-income countries; and (4) prioritizing research on chronic, low-dose, and mixture exposures.
The contamination of aquaculture products and effluents by Emerging Contaminants (ECs)—originating from both direct chemical applications and peripheral industrial activities—represents a critical global concern due to the environmental and public health risks associated with their persistence, bioaccumulation, and environmental dispersion. This systematic review aimed to synthesize the available scientific evidence on the occurrence, sources, environmental and human health impacts, and mitigation strategies of ECs in aquaculture production systems. A systematic literature search was conducted following the PRISMA 2020 guidelines across the Web of Science, Scopus, and Google Scholar databases. Studies were selected according to predefined eligibility criteria, resulting in a total of 137 studies included in this review. The findings indicate that these pollutants accumulate within the tissues of farmed organisms, posing direct ingestion risks to humans, while contaminated effluents facilitate the widespread degradation of receiving water bodies. Given their environmental persistence and ubiquitous distribution, there is an urgent need for advanced analytical methodologies, robust regulatory frameworks, and the implementation of sustainable treatment technologies—such as advanced oxidation processes and recirculating aquaculture systems—alongside strategies for reducing antibiotics and microplastics. These measures are essential to mitigate the prevalence of ECs and safeguard both ecosystem integrity and human health.
Tania del Carmen Villalbazo-García, B. Ortiz-Muñiz, María del Refugio Castañeda-Chávez et al.· Aquaculture Journal· 0 citations
Objectives
This review aimed to synthesize recent advances in the understanding of emerging contaminants (ECs), including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, pharmaceuticals, personal care products, microplastics and nanoplastics, endocrine-disrupting chemicals, and engineered nanomaterials. It critically assessed their sources, environmental pathways, transformation mechanisms, and ecological and human health impacts, while identifying knowledge gaps and future research priorities.
Methods
A systematic literature review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses framework. Peer-reviewed research articles and critical reviews were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed. Emphasis was placed on studies that used advanced analytical techniques, including high-resolution mass spectrometry, nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, and biosensor-based detection methods.
Results
The findings indicated that ECs are characterized by high environmental persistence, complex transformation pathways, bioaccumulation, and trophic transfer potential. Reported impacts included endocrine disruption, genotoxicity, antimicrobial resistance, and ecological imbalance. Across global environmental compartments, these pollutants pose long-term risks to ecosystems and human health. Their distinctive partitioning behavior and environmental persistence challenge standard ecological assessment frameworks and underscore the need for comprehensive toxicological evaluations and robust regulatory oversight to mitigate long-term biological accumulation and adverse physiological effects in aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.
Conclusion
This review highlights the urgent need for improved regulatory frameworks, standardized monitoring approaches, and sustainable remediation strategies for ECs. By integrating advanced analytical methods, computational tools, and circular economy principles, the review provides a timely contribution to environmental science and policy and supports informed decision-making for environmental protection and public health.
A. Salaudeen, Y. A. Olawore, H. Yakubu et al.· Osong Public Health and Rese...· 0 citations
Pharmaceutical pollutants have emerged as a critical environmental and public health concern due to their continuous release into ecosystems through manufacturing effluents, improper disposal of expired drugs, hospital waste, and incomplete removal during wastewater treatment. These drug residues persist in water, soil, and biota, causing ecological imbalance, development of antimicrobial resistance, endocrine disruption, and potential long-term toxicity in humans. The life-cycle of pharmaceuticals, from production and consumption to disposal, plays a significant role in determining their environmental footprint. This study reviews the sources, fate, and impacts of pharmaceutical contaminants, emphasizing both conventional and modern drugs, including expired medications. It highlights the challenges associated with inadequate regulatory frameworks, limited public awareness, and inefficiencies in existing treatment technologies. Furthermore, the manuscript discusses the toxicological effects of drug pollutants on aquatic organisms and humans, stressing the need for integrated waste management and green pharmaceutical practices. Emphasis is placed on safety precautions such as proper drug disposal programs, advanced wastewater treatment methods, eco-pharmacovigilance, and the development of environmentally benign drugs. The study underscores the importance of sustainable strategies to minimize pharmaceutical pollution and protect ecosystem integrity and human health. Overall, this work contributes to a better understanding of pharmaceutical life-cycle impacts and provides a foundation for policy formulation and future research aimed at achieving environmental sustainability in healthcare systems.
Santosh Kumar· International Journal of Env...· 0 citations
Pharmaceutical residues are now routinely detected in wastewater-impacted aquatic environments because medicinal compounds and their metabolites enter sewerage, industrial effluents, agricultural drainage and receiving waters through multiple, often continuous pathways. Their environmental significance cannot be inferred from occurrence alone: risk depends on potency, exposure duration, mixtures, transformation products, species sensitivity and the capacity of treatment systems to reduce biologically active mass. This critical narrative review integrates evidence on sources, ecological effects and bioremediation, with emphasis on wastewater-impacted freshwaters and on technologies that rely substantially on microbial, fungal, algal or plant-associated processes. Literature was selected through live searches of multidisciplinary and environmental or biomedical scholarly sources, supplemented by citation searching and DOI verification. The strongest causal ecological evidence comes from whole-ecosystem work with endocrine-active pharmaceuticals, while laboratory and field studies also support concern for behavioural disruption, chronic sublethal effects and antibiotic-driven selection for antimicrobial resistance. Nevertheless, extrapolation remains difficult because monitoring is dominated by parent compounds and targeted analytes, whereas mixtures and transformation products are incompletely characterised. Conventional activated sludge provides variable and compound-specific attenuation; apparent parent removal may reflect sorption or transformation rather than mineralisation. Membrane bioreactors, adapted bacterial consortia, white-rot fungi, microalgae and constructed wetlands can improve removal under favourable conditions, but evidence is uneven across scales and frequently relies on high test concentrations or parent disappearance. The synthesis indicates that no single biological technology provides universal control. Risk reduction is more defensibly pursued through source control, robust biological treatment and targeted polishing, supported by mass balances, transformation-product screening, effect-based endpoints and antimicrobial-resistance assessment. Future research should prioritise trace-level, full-scale comparisons and standardised demonstrations that connect chemical removal to reduced biological hazard.
Yogita Basene, Shreeti Shrivastawa· Asian Journal of Environment...· 0 citations
Pharmaceutical quality and safety are critical to public health, yet low- and middle-income countries such as Nigeria remain vulnerable to medicine safety challenges due to weak regulatory enforcement and limited market surveillance. A major concern is contamination of pharmaceutical products with toxic heavy metals, including lead, cadmium, mercury, arsenic, nickel, and chromium. These metals can bioaccumulate and cause adverse health effects even at low concentrations, such as neurodevelopmental impairment, renal and hepatic dysfunction, reproductive toxicity, and cardiovascular complications. This narrative review synthesised evidence on the prevalence of heavy metal contamination in pharmaceuticals marketed in Nigeria, associated health risks, and the adequacy of existing regulatory frameworks.Relevant literature published between 2005 and 2025 was identified through a comprehensive literature search of major databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar, African Journals Online, and Scopus, supplemented with reports from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, the World Health Organisation, and grey literature. Studies assessing industrially manufactured or over-the-counter medicines for heavy metal contamination in Nigeria were included.The findings reveal recurrent contamination across several pharmaceutical categories, particularly syrups, locally manufactured analgesics, and herbal preparations. Lead and cadmium were the most frequently reported contaminants, with some products containing multiple metals and exceeding pharmacopeial limits. Heavy metal exposure induces oxidative stress and cellular damage, contributing to kidney injury, neurotoxicity, haematological effects, and endocrine disruption. Children, pregnant women, individuals with renal impairment, and frequent users of herbal medicines were identified as particularly vulnerable. Overall, heavy metal contamination remains a significant medicine safety concern in Nigeria, highlighting the need for stronger regulation, improved analytical capacity, and risk-based surveillance.
Blessing Abraham Ogungbe, David Ololade Atanda, Janet Adedoyin Bepo et al.· International Journal of Ris...· 0 citations
Evidence regarding the effects of vanadium in human populations is limited; nevertheless, the available reports substantiate its potential harmful effects on fetal development and various human systems.
Thalía O Macías-Camacho, M. Sánchez-Rodríguez· Critical Reviews in Toxicolo...· 0 citations