Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Biocontained Carcass Composting for Control of Infectious Disease Outbreak in Livestock
Published on: May 6, 2010
Fate of veterinary antibiotics during animal manure composting
Min Zhang1, Liang-Ying He2, You-Sheng Liu2
1State Key Laboratory of Organic Geochemistry, Guangzhou Institute of Geochemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Guangzhou 510640, China; The Environmental Research Institute, MOE Key Laboratory of Environmental Theoretical Chemistry, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
Abstract:
Antibiotics are widely used in animals for disease treatment and prevention. After use, these antibiotics end up in manure. Here we investigated the fate of veterinary antibiotics in animal manure during composting and their residues in manure-applied soils. The results showed that 64.7% of the detected veterinary antibiotics were removed after composting for 171 days, which mainly occurred at the thermophilic phase in the second week, followed by a long stable stage with limited variations. The removal rates for lincomycin, trimethoprim and the macrolides during the composting were >89.7%, while those for the sulfonamides, tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones were less than <63.7%. The dissipation of antibiotics during the composting was related to the change of compost physicochemical properties, especially moisture and C/N ratio. The application of compost products with antibiotic residues could still lead to soil contamination, which may pose risks of resistance selection to the soil ecosystem.
Related Concept Videos
Antibiotic Selection
Fates of Pyruvate
In aerobic organisms, pyruvate is metabolized via the citric acid cycle to produce reduced coenzymes NADH and FADH2. These coenzymes are then oxidized in the electron transport chain to produce ATP and, in the process, regenerate the NAD+ and FAD. As seen in some cell types and organisms, fermentation...
Personal Choice and Fate Attributions
Development of Antibiotic Resistance
Tonicity in Animals
Tonicity in Animals

