ANALYZING MACROLIDE ANTIBACTERIAL AZITHROMYCIN IN ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIMENS

Dr. Alankar Shrivastava*

Recently, the issue of pharmaceutical chemicals being found in wastewater has drawn attention due to its potential effects on human health as well as the environment. An important class of medications used to treat human infections and in veterinary care are antibiotics. Since many of them are not entirely digested by the body, between 30% and 90% of them are excreted and end up in wastewater. Since antibiotics have a direct biological effect on microorganisms and can lead to the development of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB), they pose a potential risk if released into the environment. A third category of well-known oral antibiotics is the macrolides. By attaching themselves to the bacterial “50S ribosomal subunits” and preventing protein synthesis, macrolides demonstrate their antibacterial effect. The first 15-membered macrolide on the market, azithromycin (AZM), was created in 1980 and proved to be more stable in an acidic environment than erythromycin. With the surge of covid 19 cases worldwide, there are few reports claiming that azithromycin is helpful in improving the conditions of patients along with other medications. However, in further studies it is recommended in Covid patients with concomitant bacterial infections are either suspected or confirmed. The presented paper covers the role of AZM in Covid, analytical methodologies for its determination in environmental samples, sample preparation and extraction procedures. The presented review will be helpful for the researchers in development of further studies in this area.