Depletion of tylosin residues in feathers, muscle and liver from broiler chickens after completion of antimicrobial therapy

Abstract

Tylosin is one of the most commonly used antimicrobial drugs from the macrolide family and in broiler chickens it is used specially for the treatment of infectious pathologies. The poultry industry produces several by-products, among which feathers account for up to 7% of a chicken's live weight, thus they amount to a substantial mass across the whole industry. Feathers have been repurposed as an animal feed ingredient by making them feather meal. Therefore, the presence of high concentrations of residues from antimicrobial drugs in feathers might pose a risk to global public health, due to re-entry of these residues into the food chain. This work aimed to characterise the depletion behaviour of tylosin in feather samples, while considering its depletion in muscle and liver tissue samples as a reference point. To achieve this goal, we have implemented and validated an analytical methodology suitable for detecting and quantifying tylosin in these matrices. Sixty broiler chickens, raised under controlled conditions, received an oral dose of 32 mg kg of tylosin for 5 days. Tylosin was quantified in muscle, liver and feathers by liquid chromatography coupled with a photodiode array detector (HPLC-DAD). High concentrations of tylosin were detected in feather samples over the whole experimental period after completing both the therapy and the recommended withdrawal time (WDT). On the other hand, tylosin concentrations in muscle and liver tissue samples fell below the limit of detection of this method on the first sampling day. Our results indicate that the WDT for feather samples is 27 days, hence using feather meal for the formulation of animal diets or for other agricultural purposes could contaminate with antimicrobial residues either other livestock species or the environment. In consequence, we recommend monitoring this matrix when birds have been treated with tylosin, within the context of poultry farming.

Determination of sulfachloropyridazine residue levels in feathers from broiler chickens after oral administration using liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry

“…Meanwhile, antimicrobial behavior in by-products such as feathers has already been studied for fluoroquinolones, amphenicols, macrolides and tetracyclines [ 20 – 27 ]. Interestingly, researchers have found higher concentrations in feathers than in edible tissues such as liver and muscle samples.…”

When is it safe to eat different broiler chicken tissues after administration of doxycycline and tylosin mixture?

“…Cooking for 15 min reduced the residue levels by 84.56% and 98.32% for TYT and DOX, respectively. The statistical comparison between the results obtained by the proposed and the reported methods (Cornejo et al., 2018; Gajda et al., 2013) is presented in Table 2 for the determination of TYT and DOX in different tissues. The recovery of the extraction of DOX and TYT using the fortification levels is presented in Table 3.…”

Antimicrobial prescribing guidelines for poultry

“…The potential for distribution of antimicrobial agents into the eggs of laying birds is an important consideration when developing treatment plans for laying birds and this subject has been comprehensively evaluated. [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] As seen in Appendix 2, there are very few drugs approved for use in birds and even fewer for birds currently producing eggs for human consumption. This is primarily a consequence of the presence, often for prolonged periods, of residues of the antimicrobial agent or its metabolites in meat and/or eggs.…”