Uptake of pharmaceuticals by crops: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Studies into the uptake of pharmaceuticals from soils into crops were first conducted in the 2000s. Since then a wealth of data has been generated on uptake of pharmaceuticals into plants. However, to the best of our knowledge these studies have not been systematically reviewed. Here, we present a quantitative, systematic review of empirical data on the uptake of pharmaceuticals into crops. A bespoke relational database on plant uptake of pharmaceuticals was developed. The database contained details of the experimental design and associated results from 150 articles, spanning 173 pharmaceuticals, 78 study crops and 8048 unique measurements. Analysis of the data in the database showed clear trends in experimental design with lettuce being the most studied crop and carbamazepine and sulfamethoxazole being the most studied pharmaceuticals. Pharmaceutical properties were found to create the greatest range in uptake concentrations of any single variable studied. Uptake concentrations were also found to vary between crops, with relatively high uptake concentrations identified in cress, lettuce, rice and courgette crops. Understanding of the influence of soil properties on pharmaceutical uptake was limited by a lack in reporting of key soil properties across the published literature. The data comparisons were inhibited by differences in quality of the different studies. Moving forwards, a framework for best practice in this field is needed to maximise the value and further applications of data produced.