Assessment of uptake, translocation and accumulation of three selected veterinary antibiotics by cabbage plant using HPLC-DAD and LC-MS

Abstract

Plants absorb, translocate and accumulate antibiotic residues or their active metabolites via their roots. The buildup of these antibiotics or their active metabolites in the plant parts, soil, surface and groundwater put the human health and the ecosystem in danger. Nevertheless, there is still much to learn about the metabolism and removal routes of antibiotics by the plants. Consequently, this study aimed to assess the uptake, translocation and accumulation of three distinct classes of antibiotics namely, sulfamethoxazole, norfloxacin and doxycycline by the cabbage plants. The result confirmed that the cabbage plants absorbs, translocate and accumulate all the three antibiotics within half an hour and their accumulation grew throughout the experimental period (half an hour–72 hours). Sulfamethoxazole was the antibiotic that the cabbage plants absorb, distribute and accumulate the most, followed by doxycycline and norfloxacin, respectively. Sulfamethoxazole detected in the plant parts were 4.68–31.9 mg/kg in the roots, 2.05–24.5 mg/kg in the stems and 0.89–17.3 mg/kg in the leaves throughout the experimental period. Doxycycline was 2.03–13.1, 1.00–10.8 and 0.67–9.21 mg/kg in the roots, stems and leaves of the plant, respectively. Norfloxacin was 1.34–8.79, 0.48–5.18 and 0.29–4.26 mg/kg in the root stems and leaves of the plant, respectively.