Anti-inflammatory painkillers change how lettuces and radishes grow
Scientists have assessed the impact of a range of commonly used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medication on edible crops like lettuce and radish.
They found that the drugs could change the way the roots and stems of the plants grow in the first few weeks after germinating.
In some cases the drugs suppressed growth and led to roots being shorter while others enhanced the growth of leaves. They could also alter the way the crops took up water.
More than 30 million of these drugs are prescribed across the world every day and find their way into the environment.
Dr Clare Redshaw, who led the study at the European centre for environmental and human health at the University of Exeter, said that the findings raised serious questions about how the medication we use is altering the environment around us.
Environmental researchers have in the past warned that hormones like estrogen from contraceptive drugs are having a devastating impact on fish and amphibian.
Now the latest work suggests that many other common drugs are also having unexpected impacts on the environment and the food we eat.
Dr Redshaw said: ‘These are some of the most widely used drugs in the world, yet we know very little about their effects on flora and fauna.
‘The roots and stems seemed to be the most affected in the plants we looked at, but some of the drugs had opposing effects in different plants.’
Click here to read the complete article at www.dailymail.co.uk.