Biodegradation Of Expired Pharmaceutical Raw Materials Using Select Fungal Species

Authors

  • Rana Raid Shukry Author
  • Mohammed Yahya Ali Allawy Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64252/fzwzps44

Keywords:

Pharmaceutical waste, Biodegradation, Fungi, GC-MS

Abstract

Fungi were isolated from different environmental sources. The fungi were identified morphologically and molecularly: Aspergillus terreus, Aspergillus niger, Penicillium italicum, and Rhizopus arrhizus using the ITS (Internal Transcribed Spacer) molecular diagnostic technique. The ability of fungi to degrade three expired drug raw materials—clopidogrel, paracetamol, and rosuvastatin—prepared by Pioneer Pharmaceuticals, Iraq, Sulaymaniyah, was tested. The highest degradation rate among the pharmaceutical compounds was for Rosuvastatin, reaching 85.2% for Rhizopus arrhizus, followed by Penicillium italicum and Aspergillus niger, with rates of 84.12% and 82.59%, respectively. The fungi under study also played an effective role in the degradation of clopidogrel, as the degradation rates of Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus arrhizus were close at 68.08% and 67.69%, respectively. The lowest degradation rate of paracetamol was observed among the three fungi compared to the previous two. Some secondary metabolites of the fungi under study were analyzed using GC-MS. It was observed that there was an abundance of 6-bromohexanoic acid, 10-undecenyl ester, with an area of ​​59.20% in Rhizopus arrhizus. While the most abundant secondary metabolite of Penicillium italicum was trichloroacetic acid, undec-10-enyl ester, with an area of ​​57.77%, the most abundant secondary metabolite of Aspergillus niger was carbonic acid, 2, 2, 2-trichloroethyl cyclohexylmethyl ester, at 46.52%.

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Published

2025-07-02

Issue

Section

Articles

How to Cite

Biodegradation Of Expired Pharmaceutical Raw Materials Using Select Fungal Species. (2025). International Journal of Environmental Sciences, 1166-1178. https://doi.org/10.64252/fzwzps44