Evaluation of the effectiveness of natural enterosorbents in removing residual amounts of antibiotics

The toxic effect of antibiotics on the human body is due, among other things, to their accumulation in vivo during long-term use or at high dosages. Removal of residual amounts of antibiotics and their metabolic products after a course of therapy is possible with the help of sorbents, while natural enterosorbents have a number of advantages over synthetic ones.

Purpose. To identify the most effective type of natural enterosorbent for the removal of cephalosporin antibiotics using ceftriaxone as an example.

Material and methods. During the work, a series of aqueous solutions of ceftriaxone sodium salt with concentrations of 0.54•10^-3 mol/l was prepared; 0.90•10^-3 mol/l; 1.44•10^-3 mol/l; 2.70•10^-3 mol/l; 4.51•10^-3 mol/l and mixed with equal amounts of adsorbents such as zosterol, povidone, apple and citrus pectins. The specific adsorption of the antibiotic was determined by the difference in solution concentrations before and after adsorption using conductometry.

Results. Based on experimental data, adsorption isotherms of ceftriaxone on four enterosorbents were constructed. The graphs determined the concentrations of the antibiotic at which the maximum saturation of the corresponding adsorbent occurs: for zosterol – 0.54•10^-3 mol/l, for apple pectin – 0.9•10^-3 mol/l, for citrus pectin – 2.7•10^-3 mol/l, on the surface of povidone the maximum saturation is not reached even at a maximum antibiotic concentration of 4.5•10^-3 mol/l.

Conclusion. All studied natural sorbents are capable of adsorbing ceftriaxone and, as a result, removing it from the body. The most effective sorbent in relation to the antibiotic under study is povidone.