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. 2025 May 22;13(6):422.
doi: 10.3390/toxics13060422.

Occurrence, Source Apportionment, and Risk Assessment of Antibiotics in the Zhuozhang River, China: A Specific Investigation in Water-Scarce and Human Activity-Intensive Regions

Juping Yan  1 , Xiayang Wu  1 , Ke Dong  1 , Zhiyuan Zhang  1 , Xuejun Sun  2   3 , Shaopeng Gao  4 , Jinxian Liu  2   3   5 , Baofeng Chai  2   3   5
Affiliations

Occurrence, Source Apportionment, and Risk Assessment of Antibiotics in the Zhuozhang River, China: A Specific Investigation in Water-Scarce and Human Activity-Intensive Regions

Juping Yan et al. Toxics. .

Abstract

Antibiotic contamination and its environmental impact in water-scarce and human activity-intensive regions have been poorly researched, particularly in the Zhuozhang River, China. Thus, this study investigated the occurrence, sources, and ecological risks of 27 different antibiotics in the Zhuozhang River, based on water samples collected from representative locations including major reservoirs, upstream of the river, the main river channel, and a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Results showed widespread contamination by quinolones, with concentrations ranged from 41.7 to 184.3 ng/L. Quinolones-particularly ofloxacin and cinoxacin-were identified as posing moderate ecological risks, with heightened concerns in the main river channel and wastewater treatment plant areas. Source apportionment using the positive matrix factorization model identified livestock farming as the dominant contributor to antibiotic pollution, accounting for 22.9% of the total antibiotic load in the river. These findings underscore the urgency of enhancing monitoring and management strategies to mitigate antibiotic contamination, especially in high-risk areas such as wastewater treatment plants and main river sections.

Keywords: Zhuozhang River; antibiotics; risk assessment; source apportionment.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Sampling sites in the study area. Representative sampling sites were distributed along the river, namely major reservoirs (S1), the upstream of the river (UTR: S2, S3, S4), a WWTP (S5), and the main stream of the river (MSR: S6, S7, S8, S9, S10).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Concentration distribution characteristics of sulfonamides, macrolides, and quinolones in different sampling sites.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Spatial distribution of 27 antibiotics in the Zhuozhang River. Note: enrofloxacin (ENR), nalidixic acid (NA), sparfloxacin (SPA), sulfadiazine (SDZ), sulfamethazine (SMZ), sulfamethoxazole (SMX), sulfaquinoxaline (SQX), sulfisoxazole (SSZ), sulfadoxine (SDM), oxolinicacid (OA), flumequin (FMQ), cinoxacin (CIN), sulfabenzamide (SB), sulfamethoxypyridazine (STD), sulfamonomethoxine (SMM), sulfaphenazole (SPP), lomefloxacin (LOM), ofloxacin (OFL), marbofloxacin (MAR), fleroxacin (FLX), sarafloxacin (SAL), orbifloxacin (OBI), difloxacin (DFL), oleandomycin (OLE), erythromycin (ERY), clarithromycin (CLR), roxithromycin (RTM), spiramycin (SPI), sulfathiazole (STZ), tylosin (TYL), carbenicillin (CAR).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Correlation heatmap of antibiotic concentrations in the Zhuozhang River based on Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient analysis. Note: * represents p < 0.05.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Antibiotic source profiles in the Zhuozhang River by PMF analysis.
Figure 6
Figure 6
Contributions from five different sources to the total antibiotic amount in the Zhuozhang River.
Figure 7
Figure 7
RQ values in different sampling sites.
Figure 8
Figure 8
Region-based ecological risk assessment of selected high-risk antibiotics in the Zhuozhang River Basin.
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