Anthropogenic actions increment the bulks of nutrients, organic matter and hazardous substances in water bodies. Therefore, they are important driving forces impoverishing the status of many freshwater reservoirs. Among them, novel ‘emerging’ contaminants, like pharmaceuticals can be also accounted. Antibiotics produce multiple effects
on mussels, such as haemocyte low viability, phagocitosis, thiol abnormal levels and others; ibuprofen d iminishes
lysosomal membrane stability in mollusks; diclofenac produces oxidative imbalances in mussels; anticancer
agents can affect mussels and sea star; fluoxetine affects mRNA down regulation in mussels; estrogens increase
DNA damage in mussels DNA da mage; finally, lipid regulators can lower lysosomal membrane stability.
Pharmaceuticals also possess an effect on vertebrates Diclofenac affects growth and lipid peroxidation in zebra
fish; ibuprofen decreases prostaglandine concentration in fathead minnow s; antifungals decrease fertility of male
zebra fishes; antidepresants decrease hunting ability of fathead minnows; antibiotics can produce histological changes in gills and liver of mosquitofish; antihypertensives can affect the glucose level of rainbow t rout. Current research is developing potential remediation tools to improve the situation using grape polyphenolic extracts as chelants of heavy metals; or even zero valent iron nanoparticles prepared with polyphenol extracts to remediate pharmaceuticals.