# Magic Mushrooms? White-Rot Fungal Degradation of Psychoactive Pharmaceuticals in Biosolids

## TL;DR

White-rot fungi can break down psychoactive drugs in biosolids, offering a sustainable way to reduce environmental contamination.

## Contribution

Demonstrates the effectiveness of white-rot fungi in degrading psychoactive pharmaceuticals in biosolids.

## Key findings

- Two white-rot fungal species degraded eight out of nine psychoactive pharmaceuticals with 48-99% efficiency.
- Pleurotus ostreatus nearly completely degraded desvenlafaxine, trazodone, and citalopram.
- Fungal transformation products were identified, formed through cleavage, hydroxylation, or demethylation reactions.

## Abstract

Biosolids, the solid
byproducts of wastewater treatment,
are widely
applied to soils to enhance nutrient levels and organic matter. However,
their use raises environmental and human health concerns due to the
presence of anthropogenic organic contaminants. As such, there is
a need to develop treatment strategies that can help remove these
compounds before biosolids are land applied. This study investigates
the potential of two white-rot fungal species to remove nine psychoactive
pharmaceuticals from biosolids. Each species degraded eight compounds,
achieving removal efficiencies between 48 and 99% after 60 days. Pleurotus ostreatus nearly completely (>90%) degraded
desvenlafaxine, trazodone, and citalopram, while Trametes
versicolor achieved over 75% degradation of desvenlafaxine,
trazodone, and lamotrigine. Liquid culture (without biosolids) and
biosolid experiments tentatively identified 41 fungal transformation
products (27 for P. ostreatus and 36
for T. versicolor), of which many were
formed from cleavage, hydroxylation, or demethylation reactions. These
findings demonstrate that white-rot fungi can effectively grow on
biosolids and degrade sorbed psychoactive pharmaceuticals. Overall,
the results highlight mycoaugmentation as a promising and sustainable
approach for mitigating pharmaceutical contamination in biosolids
prior to land application.