Abuse of Clenbuterol and its Detection

Abstract

Clenbuterol and other beta-agonists are commonly misused as repartitioning agents in meat production and as doping substances to improve athletic performance. Numerous reports on food poisoning throughout Europe prompted the EU regulatory offices and FDA to implement a ban on the use of beta-agonists as growth promoters. Several analytical methods have been developed for detecting illegal administration of these compounds, based mainly on chromatography and immunoassay screening. This article deals with the pharmacological aspect of beta-agonists in growth promotion, control of their abuse and methods of analysis.

Illegal Use of Clenbuterol in Cattle Production in México

“…The major advantage of ELISA in clenbuterol detection is rapid analysis and relatively simple, cheap system for detection (especially when residue levels are high), and easy to perform even with large batches [11]. These characteristics made ELISA an attractive tool for serological clenbuterol residues detection in many laboratories worldwide.…”

Efecto del clorhidrato de clembuterol en la ganancia de peso y lesiones histológicas en ratones

“…El CCL provoca hipertrofia y neoformación del músculo a través de mecanismos de glucogenólisis -acumulación de nitrógeno para conformación de aminoácidos-y glucólisis -degradación de grasa-, lo que genera el incremento en el tamaño de las células musculares, principalmente del músculo esquelético (6)(7)(8). Su efecto promotor del crecimiento está mediado por la estimulación directa de los receptores b 2 adrenérgicos localizados en el tejido muscular, y la variación de las concentraciones plasmáticas de hormonas catabólicas o anabólicas, como los glucocorticoides, la hormona del crecimiento o la insulina (9,10).…”

Doping and Respiratory System

“…The animal model can depict in a more specific way the many targets, apart from bronchial muscles, of these substances. Clenbuterol is a member of this group licensed in the European community for therapeutic use in food producing species [33]. These authors stress the fact that beta2 agonists drugs, particularly clenbuterol, stimulate the growth promotion with important effects in the partitioning of lean and fat tissues in favour of the lean parts.…”