Study on the removal efficiency of antibiotics in coastal wetlands by Suaeda and Nelumbo nucifera

Abstract

This study mainly focused on the current situation of antibiotic pollution in coastal wetlands by screening for four common antibiotics (norfloxacin - NOR, ofloxacin - OFL, azithromycin - AZM, and roxithromycin - RXM) and two coastal wetland plants (Suaeda and Nelumbo nucifera), to determine the removal of antibiotic pollution by phytoremediation technology and its mechanism. We aimed to provide ideas for the remediation of antibiotics in coastal wetlands and their mechanisms of action in the context of intensive farming. The results showed that both plants had remediation effects on all four antibiotics, the phytoremediation of NOR and OFL was particularly significant, and the remediation effect of N. nucifera was better than that of Suaeda . The removal rates of the four antibiotics by Suaeda and N. nucifera at low antibiotic concentrations (10–25 μg/L) reached 48.9%–100% and 77.3%–100%, respectively. The removal rates of the four antibiotics at high antibiotic concentrations (50–200 μg/L) reached 7.5%–73.2% and 22%–84.6%, respectively. Moreover, AZM was only detected in trace amounts in the roots of N. nucifera, and RXM was not detected in either plant body.

Keywords

• coastal wetlands
• antibiotics
• suaeda and nelumbo nucifera
• phytoremediation