Technological Advancements for the Detection of Antibiotics in Food Products

Abstract

Antibiotics, nowadays, are not only used for the treatment of human diseases but also used in animal and poultry farming to increase production. Overuse of antibiotics leads to their circulation in the food chain due to unmanaged discharge. These circulating antibiotics and their residues are a major cause of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), so comprehensive and multifaceted measures aligning with the One Health approach are crucial to curb the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance through the food chain. Different chromatographic techniques and capillary electrophoresis (CE) are being widely used for the separation and detection of antibiotics and their residues from food samples. However, the matrix present in food samples interferes with the proper detection of the antibiotics, which are present in trace concentrations. This review is focused on the scientific literature published in the last decade devoted to the detection of antibiotics in food products. Various extraction methods are employed for the enrichment of antibiotics from a wide variety of food samples; however, solid-phase extraction (SPE) techniques are often used for the extraction of antibiotics from food products and biological samples. In addition, this review has scrutinized how changing instrumental composition, organization, and working parameters in the chromatography and CE can greatly impact the identification and quantification of antibiotic residues. This review also summarized recent advancements in other detection methods such as immunological assays, surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)-based assays, and biosensors which have emerged as rapid, sensitive, and selective tools for accurate detection and quantification of traces of antibiotics.

Monitoring of oxolinic acid residues in tilapia flesh (Oreochromis niloticus) using a microbiological screening technique and an LC-UV confirmatory method

“…The presence of veterinary drug residues in foodstuffs represents a proven chemical risk for the consumer [12,15,16]. Scientific research has made several efforts in developing analytical technics that allow the detection of antibiotic residues in particular [4].…”

“…The microbiological tests (bioassays) are based on the principle of inhibition of bacterial growth by residues. The immunochemical procedures (biosensors, multi arrays, radioimmunoassays and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay "ELISA") are employed for the identification of specific antimicrobial residues or for the recognition of structurally similar metabolites through antibody/antigen/enzyme interaction [16]. Physico-chemical methods require expensive equipment and skilled personnel and are usually based on chromatographic separation methods such as high-performance thin layer chromatography (HPTLC) [17], HPLC coupled with UV [18] detection or mass spectrometry [19].…”

Nanomaterial-Based Fluorescent Biosensor for Food Safety Analysis

“…Antibiotics are used not only in animal and poultry farming but also in the treatment of human diseases. The abuse of antibiotics leads to a series of health and environmental problems owing to their serious side effects [ 104 , 105 ]. Adverse human reactions to antibiotics, such as allergies, organ damage, and bacterial drug resistance, have raised popular concerns [ 106 ].…”

Current Progress in Natural Degradation and Enhanced Removal Techniques of Antibiotics in the Environment: A Review

“…The methods of antibiotic extraction from different substrates vary. For example, antibiotic residues in food are often difficult to detect as the residues are often matrix-associated, which can interfere with their analysis [ 14 , 15 ]. Current separation and detection methods are often based on chromatography or immune-affinity analysis.…”