Use of Algae Scenedesmus as Bioindicators of Water Pollution from Active Ingredients

Water is one of the essential sources for the life of every living being, but today it is increasingly compromised because of pollution due to the introduction of harmful substances produced by anthropic activities [1] into rivers and aquifers. Among these harmful substances drugs are also included. Proper drug treatment requires that they must be disposed of in a special containers in pharmacies, as their active ingredients and excipients make them able to modify the ecosystem [2]. In addition to their illicit domestic disposal [3] and to illicit drug use [4], the partial treatment of waste water both indoor from the pharmaceutical industries [5] and outdoor from the sewage treatment plants can be mentioned, containing metabolized and not metabolized molecules excrete (urine, stools) [6]. The active ingredients in sewage, if not removed or destroyed, flow into rivers and lakes where they can persist for a long time, being accumulated and influencing flora [7] and fauna [8], including humans [9].