The Effects of Tetracycline and Ibuprofen on Common Duckweed, Lemna minor

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Pharmaceuticals and chemicals are finding their way into drinking water by means of household and industrial sewage. This study explores the effects of two common pharmaceuticals—tetracycline and ibuprofen—on the growth of Common Duckweed, Lemna minor. The number of duckweed per test tube for each treatment was compared after 37 days. Tetracycline was not found to effect clonal growth of duckweed. There was significant difference in duckweed count between the ibuprofen treatment and the control treatment with ibuprofen inhibiting the growth of the duckweed. It is possible that the tetracycline prevented the protein synthesis of any harmful bacteria growing with the duckweed, hence promoting duckweed growth. Ibuprofen has thoroughly been shown to restrain reproduction in aquatic mammals, but further studies are needed to investigate the reasons for its growth-inhibitory effects on aquatic plants.