Naproxen and ampicillin degradation by the Ascomycota fungi <i>Penicillium</i> and <i>Aspergillus</i>

The global population has increased the use of pharmaceutical compounds, emerging as contaminants. Due to their persistence in the environment, pharmaceutical residues have been detected in water and soil sources, causing adverse effects on ecosystems. Therefore, methods and techniques are necessary to degrade this pollution. An environmentally sustainable option is fungal remediation, which can decompose or degrade various xenobiotics. In this study, 30 phenanthrene-tolerant fungal isolates were analyzed to determine their potential for pharmaceutical degradation. Nine isolates were tolerant to 100 mg L-1 and three to 200 mg L-1 of naproxen and ampicillin. An enzyme activity analysis detected the production of laccase and manganese peroxidase. Penicillium crustosum H10 causes a high degradation of naproxen 95 % at 5 mg L-1 in 7 days and 100 % at 50 mg L-1 in 15 days and a low degradation of ampicillin (11.15% at 5 mg L-1). These results encourage exploring P. crustosum H10 as a viable alternative for the elimination of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.