Effects of caffeine and ibuprofen on the growth of Arabidopsis thaliana

Abstract

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are often released into the environment, even after wastewater treatment (e.g., application of biosolids and wastewater runoff) Two commonly consumed pharmaceuticals are caffeine and ibuprofen. The effects of caffeine and ibuprofen in the environment have not been well studied. We test the effects of caffeine and ibuprofen on various growth aspects of a model land plant, Arabidopsis thaliana, at different life stages. The goal is to examine how these drugs affect plant growth and their effective concentrations.