ABSTRACT
Considerable information is available regarding the environmental fate and ecotoxicity of industrial chemicals reaching water and soil systems, through industrial and municipal effluents. Similarly, the over nutrition of aquatic ecosystems by various growth promoting agents, leading to eutrophication and derangement of balance of biodiversity is well studied. Another class of anthropogenic compounds, capable of causing long term effects even at very low doses, are pharmaceutical chemicals including antibiotics. A considerable proportion of these substances, metabolic intermediates or their detoxification products, after the desired effect in target tissues, reach the water bodies.1 It is only natural that until they become biodegraded or photolyzed, they can cause toxic effects on the primary converters and primary producers. For example, many antibiotics will destroy the microorganisms involved in biodegradation processes or in effluent treatment.
