A cure for humans, a danger to the environment. For the first time, the University of Pisa has conducted research that has been recently published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials. The study investigates the effects of varying concentrations of ibuprofen, a common anti-inflammatory that has been extensively used during the Covid-19 pandemic, on angiosperms, which are marine plants. "Marine angiosperms play crucial ecological roles and provide important ecosystem services, such as protecting coasts from erosion, storing carbon and producing oxygen, supporting biodiversity, and serving as a nursery for numerous animal species", explains Professor Elena Balestri of the University of Pisa's Department of Biology. The research was particularly focused on Cymodocea nodosa (Ucria) Ascherson, a species that grows in shallow coastal regions, including those near the estuary of rivers, which are frequently contaminated by a variety of pollutants, including pharmaceuticals. The experiment was carried out in mesocosms, with the plants exposed for 12 days to ibuprofen quantities seen in Mediterranean coastal waters. It was thus shown that the presence of this anti-inflammatory at concentrations of 0.25 and 2.5 micrograms per liter generated oxidative stress in the plant but not permanent damage. However, if the concentration was 25 micrograms per liter, the plant's resilience to environmental stress was compromised due to the injury to the cell membranes and the photosynthetic apparatus.