Antibiotics, as pollutants of emerging concern, can enter marine environments, rivers, and lakes and endanger ecology and human health. The purpose of this study was to review the studies conducted on the presence of antibiotics in water, sediments, and organisms in aquatic environments (i.e., seas, rivers, and lakes). Most of the reviewed studies were conducted in 2018 (15%) and 2014 (11%). Antibiotics were reported in aqueous media at a concentration of <1 ng/L–100 μg/L. The results showed that the highest number of works were conducted in the Asian continent (seas: 74%, rivers: 78%, lakes: 87%, living organisms: 100%). The highest concentration of antibiotics in water and sea sediments, with a frequency of 49%, was related to fluoroquinolones. According to the results, the highest amounts of antibiotics in water and sediment were reported as 460 ng/L and 406 ng/g, respectively. In rivers, sulfonamides had the highest abundance (30%). Fluoroquinolones (with an abundance of 34%) had the highest concentration in lakes. Moreover, the highest concentration of fluoroquinolones in living organisms was reported at 68,000 ng/g, with a frequency of 39%. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that sulfonamides and fluoroquinolones are among the most dangerous antibiotics due to their high concentrations in the environment. This review provides timely information regarding the presence of antibiotics in different aquatic environments, which can be helpful for estimating ecological risks, contamination levels, and their management.

A biocoagulant was successfully extracted from Plantago ovata by using an FeCl3-induced crude extract (FCE). The potential of FCE to act as a natural coagulant was tested for clarification using the turbid water of a river. Experimental tests were performed to evaluate the effects of turbidity concentration, coagulant quantity, water pH, and humic acid concentration on the coagulation of water turbidity by FCE. The maximum turbidity removal was occurred at water pH<8. At the optimum dosage of FCE, only 0.8mg/L of dissolved organic carbon was released to the treated water. An increase in the humic acid led to the promotion of the water turbidity removal. Results demonstrated that the FCE removed more than 95.6% of all initial turbidity concentrations (50–300NTU). High bacteriological quality was achieved in the treated water. FCE as an eco-friendly biocoagulant was revealed to be a very efficient coagulant for removing turbidity from waters