Enrofloxacin in Agroecosystems: Uptake by Plants and Phytotoxical Effect

The fluoroquinolones are one of the most widely used classes of antibiotics. Enrofloxacin belongs to the class of fluoroquinolone antibiotics that have been intensively used for the treatment of bacterial infections in veterinary medicine. When antibiotic residues enter the soil, the main processes determining their persistence are sorption to organic particles and degradation. The article presents the results of studies on the sorption of enrofloxacin by different crops, provided that it’s various concentrations in the soil (1000mg·kg−1, 100mg·kg−1, 10mg·kg−1). Experimental studies have shown that the activity of absorbed antibiotics depends on its concentration in the soil and species of an agricultural plant. It was found that the most active antibiotic absorbs Lactuca sativa var. Crispa and Calendula officinalis. The lowest content of enrofloxacin among the five plants was in Mentha piperita. Adding to the soil of enrofloxacin at a concentration of 1000 mg·kg−1 leads to the formation of a high level of soil toxicity. In model ecosystems with Thymus serpillum and Mentha piperita, soil toxicity was more than 70%. The toxicity of enrofloxacin in the soil within In vivo experiments was on average 10% lower than in laboratory tests. The highest phytotoxic effect was observed in the soil of model ecosystems, where the concentration of enrofloxacin was 1000 mg·kg−1. It should be noted that in the soil where Lactuca sativa was grown, the phytotoxic effect was 56.17 % (In vitro) and 49.22% (In vivo). This is due to the active absorption of antibiotic by plants, which minimized the toxicity of the soil. The different terrestrial toxicological effects of enrofloxacin were studied using a series of bioassays and including sorption of fluoroquinolone antibiotic by five crop plants. Enrofloxacin is highly resistant, its biodegradation process is longer than other antibiotics, it is actively absorbed by the plants, and therefore it is necessary to control it content in phytoproduction.