Effect of analgesics on the antibiotic resistance of ammonia-oxidizing organismsA paper submitted to the Journal of Environmental Engineering and Science.

Abstract

The present study was conducted to determine the effect of analgesics (aspirin and salicylic acid) on heterotrophic organisms and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB) resistance to antibiotics (amoxicillin, ciprofloxacin, and nalidixic acid) using the spread plate method. The bacteria were cultured from a biological graywater reclamation system. The results indicate an increase in ciprofloxacin resistance of AOB at concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mmol/L salicylic acid and aspirin. An increase in resistance of heterotrophic organisms and AOB in the presence of salicylic acid and aspirin was observed at 0.064 and 0.107 mmol/L of nalidixic acid. However, the effect of salicylic acid and aspirin on amoxicillin resistance of heterotrophic organisms and AOB was minimal. This study is important because it focuses on the antibiotic resistance of the less studied environmental microbes by considering the impact of compounds other than antibiotics to induce antibiotic resistance.