Anthelmintics, drugs against parasitic worms, are frequently used in livestock and might act as danger environmental microcontaminants. The present study was designed to monitor the possible circulation of common anthelmintic drug albendazole (ABZ) and its metabolites in the real agriculture conditions. The sheep were treated with the recommended dose of ABZ. Collected faeces were used for the fertilization of a field with fodder plants (alfalfa and clover) which served as feed for sheep from a different farm. The selective ultrasensitive mass spectrometry revealed surprisingly high concentrations of active ABZ metabolite (ABZ-sulphoxide) in all samples (dung, plants, ovine plasma, rumen content and faeces). Our results prove for the first time an undesirable permeation of ABZ metabolites from sheep excrement into plants (used as fodder) and subsequently to other sheep in real agricultural conditions. This circulation causes the permanent exposition of the ecosystems and food-chain to the drug and can promote the development of drug resistance in helminths.

Grape pomace (GP) is a low-value by-product that contains a significant amount of high value-added products. The huge amount of non-edible residues of GP wastes (seeds, skins, leaves and, stems) produced by wine industries causes’ environmental pollution, management issues as well as economic loss. Studies over the past 15–20 years revealed that GP could serve as a potential source for valuable bioactive compounds like antioxidants, bioactive, nutraceuticals, single-cell protein, and volatile organic compounds with an increasing scientific interest in their beneficial effects on human and animal health. However, the selection of appropriate techniques for the extraction of these compounds without compromising the stability of the extracted products is still a challenging task for the researcher. Based on the current scenario, the review mainly summarizes the novel applications of winery wastes in many sectors such as agriculture, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, livestock fields, and also the bio-energy recovery system. We also summarize the existing information/knowledge on several green technologies for the recovery of value-added by-products. For the promotion of many emerging technologies, the entrepreneur should be aware of the opportunities/techniques for the development of high-quality value-added products. Thus, this review presents systematic information on value-added by-products that are used for societal benefits concerning the potential for human health and a sustainable environment.

The presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment has triggered concern among the general population and received considerable attention from the scientific community in recent years. However, only a few publications have focused on anticancer drugs, a class of pharmaceuticals that can exhibit cytotoxic, genotoxic, mutagenic, carcinogenic and teratogenic effects. The present study investigated the photodegradation, biodegradation, bacterial toxicity, mutagenicity and genotoxicity of cyclophosphamide (CP) and 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). The photodegradation experiments were performed at a neutral to slight pH range (7–7.8) using two different lamps (medium-pressure mercury lamp and a xenon lamp). The primary elimination of the parent compounds was monitored by means of liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-IT-MS/MS). NPOC (non-purgeable organic carbon) analyses were carried out in order to assess mineralization rates. The Closed Bottle Test (CBT) was used to assess ready biodegradability. A new method using Vibrio fischeri was adopted to evaluate toxicity. CP was not degraded by any lamp, whereas 5-FU was completely eliminated by irradiation with the mercury lamp but only partially by the Xe lamp. No mineralization was observed for the experiments performed with the Xe lamp, and a NPOC removal of only 18% was registered for 5-FU after 256 min using the UV lamp. Not one of the parent compounds was readily biodegradable in the CBT. Photo transformation products (PTPs) resulting from photolysis were neither better biodegradable nor less toxic than the parent compound 5-FU. In contrast, the results of the tests carried out with the UV lamp indicated that more biodegradable and non-toxic PTPs of 5-FU were generated. Three PTPs were formed during the photodegradation experiments and were identified. The results of the in silico QSAR predictions showed positive mutagenic and genotoxic alerts for 5-FU, whereas only one of the formed PTPs presented positive alerts for the genotoxicity endpoint.

The artificial sweeteners sucralose (SCL), acesulfame (ACS), saccharin (SAC), and cyclamate (CYC) have been detected in environmental waters in Europe and North America. Higher environmental levels are expected in view of the increasing consumption of these food additives. In this study, an isotope-dilution mass spectrometry (IDMS) LC–MS/MS method was developed and validated for quantifying the four artificial sweeteners in boreal lakes (n = 3) and rivers (n = 12). The highest concentrations of ACS, SAC, CYC and SCL were 9,600, 490, 210 and 1000 ng/L, respectively. ACS and SAC were detected in all studied samples, and CYC and SCL in 98% and 56% of the samples. Seasonal trends of ACS and SAC were observed in some rivers. ACS and SCL concentrations in rivers correlated linearly with population equivalents of the wastewater treatment plants in the catchment areas, whereas SAC and CYC concentrations depend more on the source.

Thiamethoxam is a widely used pesticide applied to different field crops. To inform risk assessment for this pesticide across relevant crops, we usually rely on field trials, which require time, costs and energy. For providing reliable data across crops and reduce experimental efforts, field trials should be complemented with dynamic modelling. In the present work, we hence focused on combining field trials with dynamic modelling to simulate mass evolutions of the pesticide-plant-system for thiamethoxam applied to wheat, lettuce and tomato as three major food crops. Field trials were conducted with QuEChERS (quick, easy, cheap, effective, rugged and safe) liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry, which gave consistent maximum residue concentrations for thiamethoxam in wheat, lettuce and tomato. We used these residues to evaluate the related dietary risk of humans consuming these food crops. Our results indicated that thiamethoxam did not provide any unacceptable dietary risk for humans across these three food crops, which is in line with findings from previous studies. Results for the studied crops could be extrapolated to other crops and with that, our study constitutes a cost- and time-efficient way of providing reliable input for risk assessment of pesticides across crops, which is relevant for both practitioners and regulators.

Natural environments are receiving an increasing number of contaminants. Therefore, the evaluation and identification of early responses to pollution in these complex habitats is an urgent and challenging task. Doñana National Park (DNP, SW Spain) has been widely used as a model area for environmental studies because, despite its strictly protected core, it is surrounded by numerous threat sources from agricultural, mining and industrial activities. Since many pollutants often induce oxidative stress, redox proteomics was used to detect redox-based variations within the proteome of Mus spretus mice captured in DNP and the surrounding areas. Functional analysis showed that most differentially oxidized proteins are involved in the maintenance of homeostasis, by eliciting mechanisms to respond to toxic substances and oxidative stress, such as antioxidant and biotransformation processes, immune and inflammatory responses, and blood coagulation. Furthermore, changes in the overall protein abundance were also analysed by label-free quantitative proteomics. The upregulation of phase I and II biotransformation enzymes in mice from Lucio del Palacio may be an alert for organic pollution in the area located at the heart of DNP. Metabolic processes involved in protein turnover (proteolysis, amino acid catabolism, new protein biosynthesis and folding) were activated in response to oxidative damage to these biomolecules. Consequently, aerobic respiratory metabolism increased to address the greater ATP demands. Alterations of cholesterol metabolism that could cause hepatic steatosis were also detected. The proteomic detection of globally altered metabolic and physiological processes offers a complete view of the main biological changes caused by environmental pollution in complex habitats.

Two different sample preparation protocols for the determination of 37 emerging and historical halogenated flame retardants (HFRs) in marine tissues were compared with regards to extraction recovery, lipid removal efficiency, repeatability, reproducibility, and ability to measure sub-ng g−1 (dry weight) concentrations in marine biota. One method involved a purification step using gel permeation chromatography (GPC) followed by a HPLC fractionation step on a Partisil amino-cyano normal phase (GPC-Partisil procedure) and the other more traditional method was based on sulphuric acid treatment followed by silica column fractionation (H2SO4-silica procedure). The samples were analysed by gas chromatography (GC) and liquid chromatography (LC) tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). Sample fractionation in both methods enabled unique sample preparation procedures to isolate the GC from the LC amenable compounds. Both methods could remove > 99% of the lipids which was necessary prior to GC- and LC-MS/MS analyses. The majority of the target compounds (70%) had acceptable recoveries between 60–120% for both methods. However, the sulphuric acid treatment resulted in the degradation of the TBP-AE and the silica column fractionation resulted in the loss of BEH-TEBP and the elution of PBB-Acr and TBBPA-BME in the unsuitable fraction. High recoveries of DBE-DBCH (α+β), EHTBB, BTBPE, BEH-TEBP, and PBB-Acr were attributed to matrix effects, suggesting the need to use isotope-labelled surrogate standards of the target compounds. The optimisation of the silica column chromatography, GPC, and Partisil fractionation is described and discussed to afford easy implementation of the method. The method using GPC followed by Partisil fractionation is more efficient and more reproducible than the sulphuric acid-silica procedure. The application of this method to marine biota reference materials revealed the presence of relatively high concentrations of DBE-DBCH isomers and BDE-47 in fish samples. The method detection limits comply with the recommendations of the European Commission.