Performance and environmental impact of norfloxacin antibiotic in the environment

• Grant number: 11/19017-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: January 01, 2012
• End date: March 31, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Products of Animal Origin Inspection
• Principal Investigator: Valdemar Luiz Tornisielo
• Grantee: Valdemar Luiz Tornisielo
• Host Institution: Centro de Energia Nuclear na Agricultura (CENA). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil
• Associated researchers: Leila Aparecida Figueiredo

Abstract

Brazil is the largest exporter of chicken meat and the major solid waste is poultry litter, which is commonly used as agricultural fertilizer. This solid waste can contain significant amounts of antibiotics generally causing an environmental impact, little investigated until now. Currently, norfloxacin is the main antibiotic used in farms. Therefore, the objective of this study is to conduct an environmental survey of the antibiotic norfloxacin and assess the impact of indiscriminate use of this on microbial community in soil and in aquatic organisms. First step: survey of farms in Piracicaba / SP city, then seven of them will be selected to collect poultry litter, soil and surface waters samples. The determination of the rates of antibiotic in the samples collected will be made by high performance liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry technique (LC-MS/MS) as leaching tests of the molecule in the field will be released. Second step: to determine the microbial activity of soil sampled using 14C-glucose and to determine the microbial diversity of these samples using Polymerase Chain Reaction - Electrophoresis in denaturing gradient gel technique (PCR / DGGE). Third step: to determine the acute toxicity of this molecule for Daphnia magna and Danio rerio. Probably, this use of norfloxacin in chickens may do populations of microorganisms of the soil die, causing decrease of activity and microbial diversity in places where poultry litter is being applied or discarded. Maybe when this molecule achieves water courses near the farms can occur acute toxicity in microcrustacean biomass and fishes. (AU)