Exploring the silent threats of pharmaceutical contaminants in indian seas: Monitoring, biological impact, and sustainable mitigation.

Infiltration of pharmaceuticals into marine ecosystems has emerged as a critical yet underexplored dimension of coastal pollution, with profound implications for biodiversity, ecosystem stability, and human health. This review synthesizes global and Indian perspectives on the sources, pathways, occurrence, and ecotoxicological impacts of Environmentally Persistent Pharmaceutical Pollutants (EPPPs) in marine environments, with emphasis on India's ecologically sensitive and economically vital 7500 km coastline. Marine pharmaceutical pollution has emerged as a significant environmental concern, with residues of antibiotics, NSAIDs, antidepressants, hormones, and anticancer drugs detected at concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 180 μg/L in coastal waters, sediments, and biota across Indian marine ecosystems. Sources include hospital and urban effluents, aquaculture and agricultural runoff, pharmaceutical manufacturing discharges, and improper disposal. Persistent pharmaceuticals, classified as Environmentally Persistent Pharmaceutical Pollutants (EPPPs), exhibit low degradability, bioaccumulate through trophic levels, and disrupt endocrine, neurological, and reproductive processes in marine flora and fauna. Chronic exposure promotes antimicrobial resistance, alters microbial community composition, reduces primary productivity in phytoplankton and macroalgae, and impairs fish behavior, immunity, and reproduction. Advanced analytical methods such as LC-MS/MS, UHPLC-QTOF-MS, FTIR, and SPE-LC-MS/MS enable detection of trace-level residues (<0.03-0.5 μg/L) in complex matrices. Sustainable mitigation strategies including microbial and algal bioremediation, enzymatic degradation, and carbonand biopolymer-based nanomaterials show promise for efficient pharmaceutical removal. Integrating multi-omics approaches, AI-driven predictive modeling, and policy frameworks is essential for evidence-based, scalable, and eco-efficient management of marine pharmaceutical pollution.