carrot, consumer risk, contamination, Ibuprofen uptake, surface water for watering

Increasing consumption of pharmaceuticals is reflected in contamination of surface water and soil which are then source of possible contamination of crops. Our study uncovers possibility of Ibuprofen (IBU) uptake by carrot when contaminated water and soil were used for its cultivation. Basic monitoring of IBU presence in Moravian-Silesian surface water was performed by bag method. Detected IBU amount was 21 ng on gram of sorbent per 24 hours. The growth tests started by germination test which uncovers 6,6% reduction in germination in case of slow delivery of IBU and total inhibition of germination in case of fast delivery of IBU. At the end of five-month growth test, carrots were harvested and methanol extracts were prepared and analyzed. The IBU uptake did not exceed 2 ng/g of green parts and 1.1 ng/g of carrot. Study showed that IBU uptake by carrot is possible. Potential risks to human health associated with IBU uptake are small. Unfortunately, potential risks are real mainly for small animals.