Jakarta, domclub Indonesia
—
The National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) revealed traces of the diabetes drug metformin polluting the Angke River in Jakarta.This is the first report indicating that traces of anti-diabetic drugs have entered the capital’s waters.
This is stated in a recent study conducted by BRIN.BRIN researcher Wulan Koagouw, who was involved in the study, explained that samples were taken from six different points along the Angke River in June 2022.
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The study results showed that metformin was detected in three locations, with concentrations varying between 27 ng/L to 414 ng/L.
He found that metformin levels in the Angke River were higher than 5 percent of global river data.Meanwhile, the highest levels exceed 40 percent of the global average, which is quite worrying.
Metformin is one of the most frequently prescribed drugs in the world for the treatment of type 2 diabetes. This drug is unique because it is almost not broken down by the body and is excreted in its original form through urine.
As a result, mass consumption by the public has the potential to directly affect water quality.
These findings prove that Jakarta is facing a new type of pollutant known as emerging contaminants, namely active ingredients in medicines that can pollute the environment but are often not monitored in conventional water quality monitoring.
“The absence of a natural degradation process means this compound has the potential to re-enter the food chain and ultimately impact human health,” the research team wrote in their publication in
Springer Nature
, reported
Sec
(23/11).
Koagouw warned that the discovery of metformin in the Angke River should not be taken lightly.Even though the levels are not as high as in other countries it is still unsafe.
Numerous international studies have shown that metformin has significant biological effects on aquatic organisms, including damage to gonad tissue, changes in gene expression, impaired growth in young fish, and increased production of steroid hormones in adult female fish.
These findings also indicate that long-term exposure, even at small concentrations such as those found in the Angke River, has the potential to disrupt the balance of the ecosystem.
The Angke River is one of the main rivers which is the outlet for various types of waste, ranging from household waste, industrial waste, to solid waste.The presence of metformin in these waters adds to the long list of types of pollutants that must now be anticipated.
According to BRIN, these findings can provide an important basis for governments to strengthen domestic waste management, improve monitoring of pharmaceutical pollutants, and develop evidence-based digestive control strategies.
(wpj/dmi)
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