Ecopharmacology: Therapeutic Drugs as Environmental Hazards

There is an increasing concern in the medical fraternity regarding the impact of presence of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) on the environment. In recent years, scientists have detected trace amounts of more than 150 different human and veterinary medicines in environments as far as the Arctic. High level of pollution is seen in the vicinity of large pharmaceutical manufacturing units and effluent river waters from cities. They are known to affect ecosystem in a negative way. Non-targeted population is at the receiving end of the effects of these pollutants, with direct onslaught for years together. Chronic effects are known with continuous inflow of more data, with even acute effects increasingly being reported. A research model has been suggested to bring forth a more realistic and true picture of the effects of these environment pollutants on the flora and the fauna in their natural habitats.