ABSTRACT Nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs are a group of analgesic and anti‐inflammatory drugs widely used around the world. These drugs are very important for humans; however, when they end up in the environment, they cause pollution. One of the drugs belonging to this group is indomethacin (INDO). In the study presented in this article, the effects of INDO on spring barley, Heterocypris incongruens , and the water flea Daphnia magna were evaluated. The tested drug, at a concentration of 1000 mg kg −1 of soil dry weight (DW), induced oxidative stress in spring barley seedlings, as indicated by a statistically significant rise in hydrogen peroxide, proline, and ascorbic acid levels, and an increase in DW content. A statistically significant increase in the activities of enzymes such as superoxide dismutase and guaiacol peroxidase was also observed, accompanied by a reduction in the content of chlorophyll and carotenoids and a decline in chlorophyll fluorescence. The presence of INDO in the soil caused faster root growth when the drug was used at concentrations from 0.1 to 100 mg kg −1 of soil DW. In contrast, INDO at a concentration of 1000 mg kg −1 of soil DW caused growth inhibition of both aboveground parts and the roots of barley. In the case of H. incongruens , INDO caused increased mortality of these crustaceans, and at high concentrations of the drug, mortality was 100%. INDO also proved to be harmful to D. magna causing its 100% mortality after 48 h of exposure to INDO applied at a concentration of 50 mg L −1 .
Pawłowska et al. (Thu,) studied this question.