The ability of beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) to uptake three pharmaceuticals (diclofenac, mefenamic acid and metronidazole) from two types of soil (clay and sandy soil) was investigated in this study to explore the human exposure to these pharmaceuticals via the consumption of beans. A pot experiment was conducted with beans plants which were grown in two types of soil for six weeks under controlled conditions. During the experiment period, the soil pore water was collected weekly and the concentrations of the test compounds in soil pore water as well as in plant organs (roots, stems and leaves) were weekly determined. The results showed that the studied pharmaceuticals were detected in all plant tissues; their concentrations in plant roots were higher than plant stems and leaves. The extent level and accumulation of the studied pharmaceuticals in sandy soil was higher than the clay soil. The concentration of diclofenac in plant tissues was higher than both of mefenamic acid and metronidazole, indicating that diclofenac is more available to plant. The content of dissolved pharmaceuticals in soil pore water decreased gradually over time during the experimental period confirming the ability of beans to uptake these pharmaceuticals from soil. The results suggest the possibility of studying pharmaceuticals to be accumulated in beans tissues despite their low concentrations in the studied soils. Our results showed that the studied pharmaceuticals were detected in all plant tissues; their concentrations in plant roots were higher than plant stems and leaves. The extent level and accumulation of the studied pharmaceuticals in sand soil was higher than the clay soil. The concentration of diclofenac in plant tissues was higher than mefenamic acid and metronidazole, indicates that diclofenac is more available to plant. The content of dissolved pharmaceuticals in soil pore water decreased gradually over time during the experimental period which confirming the susceptibility of beans to uptake these pharmaceuticals from soil. Our results suggest the possibility of studied pharmaceuticals to be accumulated in beans tissues despite their low concentrations in the studied soils.

This work reports the development of an analytical method for the simultaneous analysis of three fluoroquinolones; ciprofloxacin (CIP), norfloxacin (NOR) and ofloxacin (OFL) in soil matrix. The proposed method was performed by using microwave-assisted extraction (MAE), solid-phase extraction (SPE) for samples purification, and finally the pre-concentrated samples were analyzed by HPLC detector. In this study, various organic solvents were tested to extract the test compounds, and the extraction performance was evaluated by testing various parameters including extraction solvent, solvent volume, extraction time, temperature and number of the extraction cycles. The current method showed a good linearity over the concentration ranging from 1 – 300ng g-1 with correlation coefficients (r2 > 0.998) for all test compounds. Good recoveries were also obtained for the test compounds ranged from 89 – 99 %. The relative standard deviation (RSD) from intra-day and inter-day precision was lower than 7%, and the detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) limits ranged from 0.9 – 2.7ng g-1.Finally, the proposed method was applied to determine the target compounds in real soil samples irrigated with wastewater. The results confirm the presence of the test compounds in soils with values ranging from 1.9 – 4.6ng g-1, as well as the suitability of the proposed method to determine the test compounds in real soil matrix as well as the ability of the test compounds to accumulate in soils irrigated with sewage.