Ligninolytic enzyme activity and removal efficiency of pharmaceuticals in a water matrix by fungus Rhizopus sp. Isolated from cassava.

Residual amounts of pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) and by-products are continually released into surface water with effluents from conventional wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). This study evaluated the ability of fungal isolate to remove selected PhCs [carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBP)] from wastewater. The fungus used was Rhizopus sp. which was isolated from tuberous roots of cassava (Manihot esculenta). The isolate exhibited an important removal efficiency up to 100% and this was linked to ligninolytic enzymatic activity for lignin peroxidase (15.29 ± 2.69U/L) and manganese peroxidase (85.22 ± 4.26U/L), except laccase. This activity was optimum on day 9 of treatment. PhC metabolites were identified during the experiment revealing the existence of a biotransformation process catalysed by the isolated fungus. The disappearance of PhCs was attributed to their biosorption and biotransformation. However, it was not possible to establish a relationship between the ligninolytic enzymatic activity and the removal efficiency, which leads to the conclusion that there are other fungal metabolites which also play an important role in the biotransformation and biodegradation of the selected PhCs.

Assessing a co-culture fungal granule ability to remove pharmaceuticals in a sequencing batch reactor.

Biodegradation of carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac sodium (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBP) was evaluated through fungal granules development in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Fungal granules were developed in co-culture of T. polyzona, A. niger, T. longibrachiatum, M. circinelloides and R. microsporus at a retention time (RT) of 2 days and 1 day. Ligninolytic enzymes [laccase (Lac), lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP)] were determined. Removal of pharmaceuticals was assessed and metabolites identified using the SPE-UPLC-QToF/MS methods. A pH range of 3-4.6 was found to improve the granulation development from day 6 and the production of ligninolytic enzymes [MnP (253.00 ± 14.19 U/L), Lac (111.58 ± 10.00 U/L) and LiP (95.25 ± 8.22 U/L)]. At steady-state, a removal of 97.41±0.25%, 99.83±0.14%, and 99.91±0.08 were achieved at an RT of 2 days for CBZ, DCF, and IBP, respectively, and of 91.94±0.05%, 99.31±0.12% and 97.72±0.23% at an RT of 1 days for the same PhCs. A variety of chemical reactions have been proposed for degradation pathways catalysed by enzyme-producing fungi, generating fragment ions of intermediate compounds. This study is highly relevant for cost-effective and environmentally friendly wastewater treatment processes in water scare countries.

Endocrine-disruptive chemicals as contaminants of emerging concern in wastewater and surface water: A review.

Population growth followed by rapid development of industrialisation has caused serious environmental pollution with contaminants of emerging concern found in wastewater and surface water. As one of the most important resources for human survival, water is daily polluted by endocrine-disruptive chemicals (EDCs) including pharmaceuticals and personal care products, organic pollutants and heavy metals. Even at low concentrations in water bodies, chronic exposure to EDCs can cause adverse effects on human and environment health. The main concern with EDCs is the diseases they can generate in humans or wildlife by affecting the function of hormones in the body. Problems in the reproductive system, thyroid problems, Alzheimer's, cancer and obesity are some of the major effects of EDCs in humans. In wildlife, the reproductive system may be affected, including its levels of hatchability and vitellogenin. The efforts of the present review are on emphasising on the environmental concern on the occurrence and risk assessment of EDCs, their harmful effects in the ecosystem, human life, and wildlife, as a result of their incomplete removal from wastewater treatment plants. The review focuses on studies conducted in South Africa highlights the use of fungal bioreactors as a low-cost and eco-effective environmentally friendly wastewater treatment processes.

Environmental Dissemination of Selected Antibiotics from Hospital Wastewater to the Aquatic Environment.

The environmental dissemination of selected antibiotics from hospital wastewater into municipal wastewater and lastly to a receiving water body was investigated. Selected antibiotics (azithromycin (AZM), ciprofloxacin (CIP), clindamycin (CDM), doxycycline (DXC) and sulfamethoxazole (SMZ)) present in effluents of academic hospital wastewater, influents, sewage sludge, and effluents of municipal wastewater, receiving water, and its benthic sediment samples were quantified using the Acquity® Waters Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography System hyphenated with a Waters Synapt G2 coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The overall results showed that all assessed antibiotics were found in all matrices. For solid matrices, river sediment samples had elevated concentrations with mean concentrations of 34,834, 35,623, 50,913, 55,263, and 41,781 ng/g for AZM, CIP, CDM, DXC, and SMZ, respectively, whereas for liquid samples, hospital wastewater and influent of wastewater had the highest concentrations. The lowest concentrations were observed in river water, with mean concentrations of 11, 97, 15, and 123 ng/L, except for CDM, which was 18 ng/L in the effluent of wastewater. The results showed that the highest percentages of antibiotics removed was SMZ with 90%, followed by DXC, AZM and CIP with a removal efficiency of 85%, 83%, and 83%, respectively. The antibiotic that showed the lowest removal percentage was CDM with 66%. However, the calculated environmental dissemination analysis through the use of mass load calculations revealed daily release of 15,486, 14,934, 1526, 922, and 680 mg/d for SMZ, CIP, AZM, DXC, and CDM, respectively, indicating a substantial release of selected antibiotics from wastewater to the river system, where they are possibly adsorbed in the river sediment. Further research into the efficient removal of antibiotics from wastewater and the identification of antibiotic sources in river sediment is needed.

Data on the degradation of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites by a fungal consortium in a non-sterile stirred fluidized bioreactor.

Pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) are widely prevalent environmental contaminants, with recalcitrant behaviour to conventional biodegradation processes and harmful effects to the ecosystem and human health. Hence, developing an eco-friendly cost-effective process exploring the microbial agents appeared to be promising for the treatment of PhC contaminated effluents. A consortium of the previously isolated and identified South African indigenous fungal strains, namely Aspergillus niger, Mucor circinelloides, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trametes polyzona and Rhizopus microspores was used in a non-sterile stirred fluidized bioreactor (NSFB) to perform the simultaneous biodegradation of selected PhCs. The degradation of the PhCs, namely carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBP) as well as their transformation metabolite compounds was carried out using the SPE-UPLC/MS. Here are presented data with regard to the NSFB design, the effect of the concentration of carbon source on the growth of a fungal consortium in the NSFB, the fungal mycelial morphology, and the assessment of the physicochemical parameters. The data displayed the stoichiometric reactions of the transformation fragments and their mass spectrum. For better understanding of the data presented in the present paper, please refer to the original paper "Degradation of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites in non-sterile stirred fluidized bioreactor driven by a fungal consortium" [1].

Data on UPLC/MS method validation for the biodegradation of pharmaceuticals and intermediates by a fungal consortium and on T47DK-Bluc reporter gene assay to assess the reduction of their estrogenic activity.

In term of pharmaceutical and their intermediate compounds analysis, UPLC/MS method is a valuable equipment to achieve better confirmation on their biodegradation by fungi. The T47D-KBluc reporter gene assay is an appropriate tool to investigate to removal of estrogenic and antiestrogenic activities of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites from a synthetic wastewater. A consortium of isolated South African indigenous fungi Aspergillus niger, Mucor circinelloides, Trichoderma longibrachiatum, Trametes polyzona and Rhizopus microspores was found to perform a removal of pharmaceuticals and their metabolites and to reduce their estrogenic activity below the limit of detection in a sequencing batch reactor. Here are presented data regarding the phenolic compounds list and the method validation for UPLC/MS analysis used for selected pharmaceutical compounds namely carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen and their metabolites, as well as the T47D-KBluc bioassay using as positive control, the agonist E2 for estrogenic activity and the antagonist ICI 182,780 for antiestrogenic activity. For better understanding of the data presented in this paper, please see the research paper "Removal of pharmaceutical' estrogenic activity of sequencing batch reactor effluents assessed in the T47DK-Bluc reporter gene assay" [1].

Removal of pharmaceutical' estrogenic activity of sequencing batch reactor effluents assessed in the T47D-KBluc reporter gene assay.

Various water treatment processes may be ineffective to remove pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) and their by-products, leading to endocrine-disruptive activity that might be detrimental to wildlife and human health. This study investigated the degradation of carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF), ibuprofen (IBP), and their intermediates, as well as estrogenic activity that is not effectively removed by conventional methods. A consortium of isolated South African indigenous fungi A. niger, M. circinelloides, T. polyzona, T. longibrachiatum and R. microsporus, was used in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR) to remove PhCs, their intermediates and strongly reduce their estrogenic activity. The fungal ligninolytic enzymatic activity was determined for laccase (Lac), manganese peroxidase (MnP) and lignin peroxidase (LiP) using a spectrophotometric method. The biodegradation of PhCs and their intermediates was monitored by SPE-UPLC/MS. The in vitro estrogenic activity was assessed in the T47D-KBluc reporter gene assay. Lac, MnP and LiP production appeared to be biomass growth dependent. During a lag phase of growth, a constant biomass of about 122.04 mg/100 mL was recorded with average enzymatic activity around 63.62 U/L for Lac, 151.91 U/L for MnP and 42.12 U/L for LiP. The exponential growth phase from day 7 to day 17, was characterised by a biomass increase of 124.46 units, and an increase in enzymatic activity of 9.91 units for Lac, 99.03 units for MnP and 44.24 units for LiP. These enzymes played an important synergistic role in PhCs degradation in the cytochrome P450 system. A decrease of 13.89%, 29.7% and 16.15% in PhC concentrations was observed for CBZ, DCF and IBP, respectively, and their intermediates were identified within 4 h of incubation. The removal efficiency achieved after 24 h in the SBR was about 89.77%, 95.8% and 91.41% for CBZ, DCF and IBP, respectively. The estradiol equivalent (EEq) values of 1.71 ±â€¯0.30 ng/L and 2.69 ±â€¯0.17 ng/L were recorded at the start-up time and after 4 h, respectively. The presence of intermediates was found to induce estrogenic activity. The EEq values after 24 h incubation was found to be below the LoQ and below the LoD of the assay. None of the samples exhibited any anti-estrogenic activity. The fungal consortium inoculum was found to induce toxicity at a 0.4× concentration, as observed under a microscope. This study revealed that the use of the fungal consortium can remove the estrogenic activity of pharmaceutical metabolites, which appeared to be the most significant contributors to the endocrine-disrupting activity of the wastewater treatment plant effluents.

Antisickling activity of butyl stearate isolated from Ocimum basilicum (Lamiaceae).

OBJECTIVE: To perform phytochemical analyses on the leaves of Ocimum basilicum L. (O. basilicum), to elucidate the structure of isolate and then perform the antisickling activity on the crude extract and on the isolate. METHODS: The Emmel test performed on the acidified methanolic extract of this plant was used to evaluate the antisickling activity. The structure characterization of the active compound was performed using chromatographic techniques for the separation and the spectroscopic ones for structure elucidation (1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, COSY, HMBC). RESULTS: The chemical screening on the crude extract revealed the presence of polyphenols (flavonoids, anthocyanins, leucoanthocyanins, tannins, quinones) alkaloids, saponins, triterpenoids and steroids. The obtained extract after evaporation yielded 34.50 g (11.5%) out of 300 g of powdered leaves of O. basilicum. The acidified methanolic extract and butyl stearate showed an interesting antisickling activity. CONCLUSIONS: The acidified methanolic extract and butyl stearate from O. basilicum displayed a good antisickling activity. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time to report the antisickling activity of this compound in this plant. The synthesized compound presented the same spectroscopic characteristics than the natural one and the antisickling activities of its derivatives are understudying.