Abstract
Antihypertensive drugs are among the most prescribed drugs. Olmesartan acid, of the sartan class, belongs to a relatively new generation of antihypertensive drugs called angiotensin II receptor blockers. There are very few studies on the presence and fate of sartans in the environment, despite them being marketed in huge quantities, metabolized in low percentages, and detected in wastewater and water bodies. This paper presents a study on the less abundant and more polar fractions that have been neglected in previous studies, which led to the isolation by chromatographic methods of thirteen degradation byproducts (DPs), six of which are new, identified by nuclear magnetic resonance and mass spectrometry. A mechanism of degradation from the parent drug was proposed. The ecotoxicity of olmesartan acid and identified compounds was evaluated in Aliivibrio fischeri bacteria and Raphidocelis subcapitata algae to assess acute and chronic toxicity. For 75% of the DPs, acute and chronic exposure to the compounds, at concentrations of 5 mg/L, inhibited population growth in the algae and decreased bioluminescence in the bacteria.
Highlights
The olmesartan acid is (OLM) chlorination experiments were performed by mimicking the conditions of a typical wastewater treatmenttreatment plants (WWTPs)
The course of the reaction was monitored by HPLC, and the degradation byproducts (DPs) obtained were isolated by column chromatography, HPLC, and GC (Scheme 1)
The quantity of OLM recovered after chromatography of the initial extract of the chlorinated solution and its identification by comparison with an authentic commercial sample allowed to evaluate a percentage of mineralization around 59% under the specified conditions, while the formation of DPs is around 20%
Summary
Various analyses of wastewater show how the growth of the world’s population goes hand in hand with an increase in the concentration of organic micropollutants, such as perfluoroalkyl substances [1], cyanobacteria [2], mycotoxins [3], hormones [4], psychoactive substances [5], pesticides [6], cosmetics, and industrial additives and drugs [7,8,9], and demonstrate how this type of pollution reflects the increase in population growth [10,11]. There is a need to remove these pollutants present, especially in the most industrialized areas, from China to South Africa and from North and South America to Europe, wherever human activity presents significant developments [12,13]. These are persistent and potentially toxic to microorganisms due to their complicated molecular structures, creating problems for the environment and humans They can be present in the water that is used to irrigate cultivation fields, even bringing the problem to the land. Sci. 2021, 11, 5393 due to their complicated molecular structures, creating problems for the environment and humans They can be present in the water that is used to irrigate cultivation fields, even bringing the problem to the land and aquifers. It is possible to have an almost complete picture of the environmental fate of a EC found in water bodies such as olmesartan, as a function of its intrinsic stability under the working conditions of a WWTP, of the by-products obtained and their environmental impact
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