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Clotrimazole is a broad-spectrum antimycotic drug used for the treatment of dermatological and gynecological infections; it is incompletely broken down during sewage treatment and could potentially reach agricultural land through the application of municipal biosolids or wastewater. In the absence of any environmental fate data, we evaluated the persistence and dissipation pathways of (3)H-clotrimazole during laboratory incubations of agricultural soils. Clotrimazole was removed from a loam (time to dissipate 50% = 68 d), a sandy loam (time to dissipate 50% = 36 d), and a clay loam (time to dissipate 50% = 55 d), with formation of nonextractable residues being the major sink for (3) H. Their parent compound had no significant mineralization, as evidenced by the lack of formation of (3) H(2) O. Up to 15% of the applied radioactivity was recovered in the form of [(3)H]-(2-chlorophenyl)diphenyl methanol. The rate of clotrimazole dissipation in the loam soil did not vary with moisture content, but it was slower at a lower temperature (number of days to dissipate 50% = 275.6 d at 4°C). Addition of municipal biosolids to the loam soil did not vary the clotrimazole dissipation rate. In summary, the present study has established that clotrimazole is dissipated in soil, at rates that varied with soil texture and temperature. Clotrimazole dissipation was accompanied by the formation of nonextractable residues and detectable extractable residues of the transformation product (2-chlorophenyl)diphenyl methanol., (Copyright © 2010 SETAC.)

TheRuta graveolens L. (Rutaceae) plant is used medicinally as a homeopathic remedy in various areas of the world. In this study, volatile oils were extracted from the areal parts of the plant which was collected from southern India, then investigated for its chemical constituents and antimicrobial activities. The volatile oils were extracted by hydrodistillation using a Clevenger apparatus and samples were simultaneously analyzed with GC and GC-MS. As a result, a total of 13 chemical constituents were characterized. Representing 100% of the total oil with 2-ketones are the major groups. The principal components were identified, undecanone-2 (43.66%), 2-nonanone (16.09%), 2-acetoxy tetradecanone (14.49%), and nonyl cyclopropanecarboxylate (9.22%), respectively. The extracted volatile oil showed antibacterial activity against gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, resulting in a number of common human pathogenic bacteria including methicillin-resistantStaphylococcus aureusand the yeastCandida albicans. The zone of inhibition is from 12.57 ± 0.03 to 27.10 ± 0.02 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were within the antimicrobial activity range and varied between 0.70 ± 0.04 and 1.58 ± 0.05 μg/mL. The essential oil showed maximum antifungal activity (35.10 ± 0.02 mm) againstCandida albicans. This study indicates thatR. graveolens L.essential oils could be used as a natural medical application in antimicrobial and antifungal treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]