Peroxide impact on the fate of veterinary drugs in fertilizers

The presence of veterinary medicines in organic manure causes soil contamination which contributes to increasing resistance of indigenous microflora to drugs and results in greater susceptibility of people to allergies. The main aim of the study was to assess the efficiency of inorganic peroxide mixtures (PM) with calcium peroxide content (CaO2) in the stabilization process of manure contaminated with antiparasitic agents: albendazole (ALB) and levamisole (LEV). As a solid, CaO2 is relatively stable against decomposition. In contact with water, however, it hydrolyzes with release of oxygen. The hydrolyzation of CaO2 proceeds very slowly in soil, which guarantees the constant release of hydrogen peroxide that subsequently becomes the source of free radicals (chemical oxidation) and oxygen (aerobic conditions for the microbes). It may contribute to continuous elimination of drugs from manure. The study has demonstrated that there were significant differences in ALB and LEV conversion stimulated by the PM addition. PM supplementation increased the drug availability (on average 15% and 25% increase in the initial concentration for ALB and for LEV, respectively), thereby increasing the initial rate of reaction. Elimination of ALB and LEV from the manure sorption complex is followed by Ca2+ saturation. The initial degradation rate was affected by PM for both drugs, but the mechanisms of decomposition have been modified only for ALB. The loss of ALB in the peroxide supplemented samples was 92%, and in the samples, without the PM, it did not exceed 61%. Loss of LEV was over 90% irrespective of PM supplementation.Web of Science74132231

A pretreatment method for analysing albendazole by HPLC in plant material

Albendazole (ALB) belongs to a group of benzimidazoles—classified as antiparasitic pharmaceuticals. Its widespread application results in the presence of this pharmaceutical in natural environment (water and soil). In this paper a suitable pretreatment method was established including sampling, freezedrying and extraction. Vicia faba was used as model organism. ALB accumulation by plant tissues was observed in hydroponic culture as well as in soil. The range of pharmaceutical concentrations was 1.7×10−5 mol/L (in hydroponic culture) and 1.7×10−5 to 1.7×10−4 mol/kg air dry soil (in soil). Observations were conducted for 14 days. After this time biological material was freezedried and after homogenization, dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) extraction was performed. The recovery of ALB for the roots was 93 % while for the shoots 86 %. After cleaning, the samples were subjected to further analysis by HPLC system. Phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (50:50) were used as a mobile phase. Drug retention time was 6.3 min. Results obtained in this experiment indicate higher drug accumulation in roots rather than in the hypocotyl part of the plant, cultivated both in soil and in hydroponic culture.Web of Science2248art. no. 164