Antibiotic Uptake by Plants From Manure-Amended Soils.

Antibiotics have been used in order to treat infectious diseases in both humans and animals. But with the growth of intensive farming, a significant quantity of antibiotics is being used on animals as preventative treatments. Most antibiotics fed or injected to animals are poorly absorbed in the animal gut and substantial amounts of these antibiotics are excreted in urine and feces, which in turn end up in manure. A study was conducted to investigate how much of the antibiotics (streptomycin and gentamicin) given to animals, under Lebanese conditions, are absorbed by plants. For this purpose, a pot experiment RCBD was conducted using lettuce, carrot and radish as indicator crops. The results of this study will be outlined in a poster presentation to shed some light on the uptake of streptomycin and gentamicin, commonly used antibiotics in Lebanon, applied to soils via manure on plant quality.