Analysis, occurrence and removal of pharmaceuticals in African water resources: A current status

Pharmaceuticals are organic compounds used in medicines for alleviation of pain. Since 2017, there has been a steady increase on the availability of information on contamination of water resources caused by pharmaceuticals in some African countries. Thus far, most environmental monitoring studies of...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of environmental management 2020-01, Vol.253, p.109741-109741, Article 109741
Main Authors: Madikizela, Lawrence Mzukisi, Ncube, Somandla, Chimuka, Luke
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analytical methods
Environmental monitoring
Pharmaceuticals
Water
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Summary:Pharmaceuticals are organic compounds used in medicines for alleviation of pain. Since 2017, there has been a steady increase on the availability of information on contamination of water resources caused by pharmaceuticals in some African countries. Thus far, most environmental monitoring studies of pharmaceuticals are conducted in South Africa while there is still no available data in majority of the African countries. Therefore, the knowledge on the presence of pharmaceuticals in African water resources is still lacking. In an attempt to provide more information in this aspect, this review article seeks to critically evaluate the progress made thus far by the African scientists in the environmental monitoring and assessment of pharmaceuticals. The most studied groups of pharmaceuticals in Africa are non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, antibiotics, antiretroviral drugs and steroid hormones. Various remediation studies for selected pharmaceuticals in Africa are documented in literature. In the present review, the challenges facing the African researchers or countries on providing more scientific data on the occurrence of pharmaceuticals in water are discussed. Furthermore, the gaps and recommendations for future work are given. •Current status of pharmaceuticals in African water bodies is examined.•NSAIDs, ARVDs, antibiotics and steroid hormones are more prominent in African waters.•Coastal countries are more active in environmental monitoring of pharmaceuticals.•SPE coupled to LC systems is widely used in African countries.•Various adsorbents for removal of pharmaceuticals in contaminated water have been reported.
ISSN:0301-4797
1095-8630
DOI:10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109741