Biodegradation of carbamazepine using fungi and bacteria

Abstract

Carbamazepine is an anti-epileptic pharmaceuticalcompound which is frequently detected in wastewater. However, this compound is hardly degraded naturally due to its persistency. Thus, carbamazepine presents in water stream and household water supply as well as wastewater treatment plant. This paper focuses on various species of fungi and bacteria used in carbamazepine biodegradation and the carbamazepine degrading-enzymes involved in the degradation pathways. Selected research papers on carbamazepine biodegradation using fungi and bacteria were reviewed. The efficiency and approaches in term of methodologies and technologies used were highlighted in this paper. Such study sheds light on gaps of study and future research direction on carbamazepine biodegradation.

Keywords: biodegradation; carbamazepine; method; pharmaceuticals.