Abstract:
Development of human society has led to the progression in the field of medicine. To treat the bacterial infections in humans and animals, antibiotics are used worldwide but these antibiotics are being released to the environment through different sources and creating problems for other living organisms. Pakistan is a developing country and farmers are utilizing wastewater for irrigation of crops that might have antibiotics which could be potentially harmful with respect to the productivity and human health. The main aim of this work was to determine changes in physical growth parameters of plant and composition of its vegetative parts and to assess DNA damage in wheat plant through micronuclei assay. Five different antibiotics were selected namely ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, amoxicillin, ampicillin and ofloxacin. Antibiotic levels used were 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 mg L-1 and for comparison the control was treated with distilled water only. Physical growth parameters like germination, plant’s biomass, root and shoot length were determined after exposure to different concentrations of all the antibiotics. Genotoxicity was assessed using MN assay while vegetative composition of plants was analyzed through quantification of total phosphorus, iron, carbohydrate and protein concentration in plant. Germination of seeds was inhibited up to 20% upon applying 10 mg L-1 concentration of ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, amoxicillin, ampicillin and ofloxacin. The concentration of total phosphorus, carbohydrate and protein declined significantly at 10 mg L-1. Iron’s concentration was slightly inhibited by all the five antibiotics. The results of MN assay indicated that number of micronuclei produced was increased with increasing concentrations of antibiotics. At the highest antibiotic concentration, i.e. 10 mg L-1 micronuclei (MN) produced were in the following order: ampicillin> ofloxacin> amoxicillin> levofloxacin> ciprofloxacin. The significant differences were observed at 10 mg L-1 (46 MN per 100 cells) and 8 mg L-1 (34 MN per 100 cells) of ampicillin and at 10 mg L-1 (33 MN per 100 cells) of ofloxacin. Formation of MN upon application of antibiotics highlighted the potential toxicity in addition to reduction in growth. Above mentioned results warrant about the potential negative effects of the presence of antibiotics in wastewater and stress on plants declining the productivity and quality of the product.
