Pandemic-era painkiller pollution is hurting aquatic plants and algae
Majewska M, Harshkova D, Aksmann A
Phytoremediation
The algae and aquatic plants at the base of pond and stream food webs are absorbing common painkillers like ibuprofen washed down drains, and this review shows that contamination spiked hard during the pandemic and hasn't been fully accounted for in water quality rules.
When people take painkillers like ibuprofen or aspirin, traces of these drugs end up in rivers and lakes after passing through wastewater systems. This review pulls together five years of research showing that these drugs mess with how algae and aquatic plants make energy from sunlight, damage their internal cell structures, and stunt their growth and roots. Because painkiller use jumped sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic, the pollution levels plants are now dealing with are higher than scientists studied before, meaning the risk to these ecosystems is worse than older reports suggested.
Key Findings
Over 5,000 records were screened in a systematic review of NSAID effects on plants and algae from 2020-2025, a period marked by pandemic-driven spikes in NSAID consumption and environmental loads.
NSAID exposure damages photosynthesis and chloroplast ultrastructure, and impairs mitochondrial respiration including membrane potential and ATP production.
Exposure triggers oxidative stress (excess reactive oxygen species, lipid peroxidation, variable antioxidant enzyme responses) along with disrupted growth, root architecture, mineral balance, and secondary metabolite production.
chevron_right Technical Summary
Painkillers and other NSAIDs flushed into rivers and lakes are damaging plants and algae, harming their photosynthesis, energy production, and growth, and pandemic-era drug use made the pollution problem worse than previously known.
Abstract Preview
Original paper
NSAIDs in the environment: a 2020-2025 review of impacts on plant and algal Physiology.
Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) belong to the most frequently detected pharmaceutical pollutants in aquatic ecosystems, raising growing concern about their effects on non-target prim...
open_in_new Read full abstractAbstract copyright held by the original publisher.
Was this useful?
Want to tell us more? (optional)
Thanks for the note!
Something went wrong — please try again.
Too many submissions. Try again in an hour.
Street trees cut heat deaths by 39 percent in European cities
Trees in your local park or street aren't just pretty — they are literally keeping people alive during heatwaves, and planting even a modest number of the ri...
Urban ecology is the scientific study of living organisms and their interactions within densely developed environments dominated by buildings, paved surfaces, and human infrastructure. For plant science, this field is essential because it investigates how plants adapt and survive in fragmented
arrow_forward Explore topic