In recent years, antibiotics have been used for human and animal disease treatment, growth promotion, and prophylaxis, and their consumption is rising worldwide. Antibiotics are often not fully metabolized by the body and are released into the aquatic environment, where they may have negative effects on the non-target species. This review examines the recent researches on eight representative antibiotics (erythromycin, trimethoprim, sulfamethoxazole, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, ofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and amoxicillin). A detailed overview of their concentrations in surface waters, groundwater, and effluents is provided, supported by recent global human consumption and veterinary use data. Furthermore, we review the ecotoxicity of these antibiotics towards different groups of organisms, and assessment of the environmental risks to aquatic organisms. This review discusses and compares the suitability of currently used ecotoxicological bioassays, and identifies the knowledge gaps and future challenges. The risk data indicate that selected antibiotics may pose a threat to aquatic environments. Cyanobacteria were the most sensitive organisms when using standard ecotoxicological bioassays. Further studies on their chronic effects to aquatic organisms and the toxicity of antibiotic mixtures are necessary to fully understand the hazards these antibiotics present.

Department of Environmental and Occupational Health School of Public Health Texas A and M University College Station TX 77843 USA

Institute of Botany Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic Lidicka 25 27 60200 Brno Czech Republic; Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment Faculty of Science Masaryk University Kamenice 753 5 Building A29 62500 Brno Czech Republic

References provided by Crossref.org

Selected widely prescribed pharmaceuticals: toxicity of the drugs and the products of their photochemical degradation to aquatic organisms

Remediation of pharmaceuticals from contaminated water by molecularly imprinted polymers: a review

Modified Single-Walled Carbon Nanotube Membranes for the Elimination of Antibiotics from Water

Comparison of Graphitic Carbon Nitrides Synthetized from Melamine and Melamine-Cyanurate Complex: Characterization and Photocatalytic Decomposition of Ofloxacin and Ampicillin