Pharmaceuticals in domestic and agricultural waste waters – problem and its solution

Abstract

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) belong to the group of remedies with the largest global sales volume. They are broadly used for the treatment of a wide range of non-specific symptoms accompanying a number of diseases. Many of them also belong to OTC (over-the-counter) distributed drugs, thus, they are easily available for broad masses of the world's population. The aforementioned properties, together with low production costs, high content per dose, and relatively high proportions of non-metabolized drugs in human excretions have made several NSAIDs water pollutants of the highest importance. The most important drug of the NSAID group on a global scale is the oldest industrially produced remedy, aspirin (acetylsalicylic acid), which has been substituted by ibuprofen in recent times due to its lower side effects. In the Czech Republic, ibuprofen has the largest sales volume of all NSAIDs and is the second best-selling drug on the Czech market. Naproxen and ketoprofen are other widely used NSAIDs in human medicine together with halogenated compounds such as diclofenac and indomethacin.