Water contamination with pesticides is one of the major pollution problems in northwestern Mexico, and this is due to the extensive use of pesticides in agriculture. In this research, water samples of ten sampling sites (fishing grounds, beaches, and both) were analyzed in the search for 28 pesticides (organochlorines, organophosphates, pyrethroids, carbamates, among other chemical classes), supplemented with a calculation of the resulting potential environmental risk. Pesticides were separated from the matrix by liquid-liquid extraction and quantified by gas chromatography coupled to electron micro-capture (organohalogenated) and pulsed flame photometric detectors (organophosphates). In addition, the ecotoxicological risk of pesticides in algae, invertebrates, and fish was assessed, based on seawater pesticide concentrations using the Risk Quotient (RQ) and Toxic Units (TU) approach. The results showed 18 pesticides identified in the analyzed samples, where cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos were identified with the maximum concentrations of 1.223 and 0.994 μg L^-1, respectively. In addition, these two pesticides have been associated with acute toxic effects on algae, invertebrates, and fish. It is important to pay particular attention to the search for long-term alternatives to the use of chlorpyrifos and cypermethrin due to their high detection rates and the risks associated with their toxic properties. However, the adoption of alternative measures to synthetic pesticide control should be a priority, moving towards sustainable practices such as the use of biopesticides, crop rotation and polycultures.

A high amount of nutrients can be found in urban wastewater (UW), which makes it difficult to treat. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the potential of the aquatic macrophytes Eichhornia crassipes, Pistia stratiotes, and Salvinia molesta in the treatment of UW. To evaluate the potential of each macrophyte, phytoremediation bioassays were established; the hydraulic retention time for each bioassay was 15 days. The physicochemical analysis of the water samples considered pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), dissolved oxygen (DO), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total carbon (TC), phosphates (PO₄³-P), nitrate (NO₃-N), and total nitrogen (TN). To evaluate the phytoremediation potential of each plant, the bioconcentration factors (BCFs) and translocation factors (TFs) for NO₃-N and PO₄³-P were evaluated. Likewise, the relative growth rates (RGRs) and total chlorophyll production of the macrophytes were measured. The results showed that the highest efficiency was achieved with the bioassays with E. crassipes, with removal values of 69.7%, 68.8%, 58.7%, 69.4%, 56.3%, and 40.9% for turbidity, COD, TOC, PO₄³-P, NO₃-N, and TN, respectively. The phytoremediation potential results showed that, for BCF, the highest value was 4.88 mg/g of PO₄³-P with E. crassipes, and for TF, it was 6.17 mg/g of PO₄³-P with S. molesta. The measurement of RGR and total chlorophyll for E. crassipes showed an increase of 0.00024 gg⁻¹d⁻¹ and an increase of 4.5%, respectively. On the other hand, the other macrophytes suffered decreases in chlorophyll content and RGR. Thus, E. crassipes is defined as the macrophyte with the greatest potential for the UW phytoremediation process.

Human beings and wild organisms are exposed daily to a broad range of environmental stressors. Among them are the persistent organic pollutants that can trigger adverse effects on these organisms due to their toxicity properties. There is evidence that metabolomics can be used to identify biomarkers of effect by altering the profiles of endogenous metabolites in biological fluids or tissues. This approach is relatively new and has been used in vitro studies mainly. Therefore, this review addresses those that have used metabolomics as a key tool to identify metabolites associated with environmental exposure to POPs in wildlife and human populations and that can be used as biomarkers of effect. The published results suggest that the metabolic pathways that produce energy, fatty acids, and amino acids are commonly affected by POPs. Furthermore, these pathways can be promoters of additional effects. In the future, metabolomics combined with other omics will improve understanding of the origin, development, and progression of the effects caused by environmental exposure.