Table 1.

Effect of some synthetic active pharmaceutical ingredients on humans and fauna.

Active pharmaceutical ingredient	Known pharmacology in target organisms	Potential harmful effects on nontarget organisms
Fluoxetine	Sexual dysfunction in human as a side effect	Alters estradiol levels in fish
NSAIDs like diclofenac	Renal toxicity in human	Renal impairment in fish and birds and visceral gout and death of vultures
Ethinyl estradiol	Feminization of males as a side effect	Affecting fertility and development of fish, reptiles, and aquatic invertebrates
Cytotoxics	Wanted effect–anticancer	Reproductive toxicants and cytotoxic to fish and other aquatic species
Enrofloxacin and other antibiotics	“Growth promoters” in agriculture and poultry	Emergence of multidrug resistant strains of pathogenic organisms to humans
Chlorpyrifos Atrazine	Pesticide	Increased susceptibility to Ambystoma tigrinum viral infection and increased larval mortality