Bisphenol A toxicity in aquatic flora: Impacts and possible remediation

Abstract

Bisphenol A (BPA), is one of the high volume produced chemical which is extensively used as raw material for polycarbonate and epoxy resin manufacturing. Being one of major used and disposed material from a wide source, traces of BPA have been diagnosed from everywhere. BPA has been identified as an endocrine disruptor compound (EDC) for most of animals, due to structural similarity with hormones, and hinders many physiological functions. This review work focuses on the status of BPA in water bodies of different parts of the world. The review also focuses on the impact of BPA on aquatic plants and its possible remediation. Sub-standardly imposed policies by several countries and failure of water resource governance are rapidly leading towards incautious release of plastics and other BPA associated waste products in environments. BPA pollution affects humans, animals and even plants. Among the aquatic flora, most affected plant groups are the algal groups and macrophytes. At lower BPA concentration, many beneficial bacterial strains also show sensitivity whereas some other strains are known to metabolize or remove BPA from the water bodies. In this connection, several aquatic macrophytes have also been reported to contribute in the removal of BPA from the aquatic ecosystem.