Urinary Concentrations of Steroids in Bulls under Anabolic Treatment by Revalor-XS® Implant

Abstract

Despite the European ban of using anabolics in food-producing animals, growth promoters might still be illegally used in the European Union. To control the food chain and guarantee consumers' health, there is a need of highly sensitive analytical methods for the identification of marker residues of such treatments. In the present study, a group of bulls (n = 16) received trenbolone acetate (200 mg) and estradiol (40 mg) by a commercial ear implant during a time range of 71 days, and a second group (n = 16) was kept for control. The aim of the research was to measure the residual urinary concentrations of the administered drugs (β-trenbolone and β-estradiol), their main metabolites (α-trenbolone and α-estradiol), and possible alterations of the urinary profile of other endogenous hormones metabolically related. The analytical method was based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Results showed average urinary concentrations of α-trenbolone and α-estradiol during treatment in the range of (0.81 ÷ 2.1) ng mL−1 and (0.96 ÷ 4.4) ng mL−1, respectively, whereas β-trenbolone and β-estradiol exhibit urinary concentrations lower than 0.22 ng mL−1 in both cases. Data obtained from the urinary profiles of endogenous steroids indicate that they could be useful to indirectly detect the ongoing treatment.

A Quantitative and Confirmatory Method Employing Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Hybrid High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry and QuEChERS for the Determination of Thirty-Seven Growth Promoter Residues in Bovine Urine

“…The APCI and ESI sources were evaluated and compared for ionization efficiency and analytical signal stability. The ESI source provided more intense and stable analytical signals than APCI for most of the analytes (Figure ), which is in agreement with the literature, in which the former source is preferably used for veterinary drugs with lower polarities. − ,− , …”

“…In this way, it could be observed that the optimized method is simpler than other works reported in the literature. For instance, it did not require the use of the SPE techniques, − ,− ,, which are related to time-consuming experiments that demand great amounts of organic solvents for the conditioning and washing steps. In addition, the developed sample extraction protocol did not use any chemical derivatization reaction, which usually leads to more expensive and longer procedures. ,− …”

“…Liquid chromatography (LC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is frequently employed due to the vast working concentration ranges and to the wide variety of compounds to be investigated. − Gas chromatography (GC) coupled with MS has also been employed; ,, however, an additional derivatization step for non-volatile compounds is frequently required. Low-resolution mass spectrometry (LRMS) has accounted for most of the works regarding multiresidue methods due to the higher sensitivity and instrumental robustness. − ,− The use of high-resolution mass spectrometry (HRMS), especially the hybrid spectrometers with a combination between LRMS and HRMS, has been increasingly studied, e.g. Q-Orbitrap, a quadrupole-orbitrap hybrid mass spectrometer. ,, …”

TMT‐Based Proteomics Profiling of Bovine Liver Underscores Protein Markers of Anabolic Treatments

“…The urinary concentration of drug residues in treated and control animals has been measured and previously published to prove the efficacy of drug administration, distribution, and excretion . Anabolic compounds were monitored in urine throughout the experiments and/or in target organs, attesting for complete urinary excretion when few days of drug administration suspension are applied (Table S3, Supporting Information).…”

Effects of steroid growth promoter on morphological and biochemical adaptations in liver of broiler

“…Illegal use of steroid GP at a high dose, that is, 7mg/kg [ 12 ] and their residues in food products may negatively impact children’s mental and physical growth and women’s fertility, cause cancer, and damage vital organs such as brain, liver, kidney, and heart [ 13 ]. Due to these health concerns, some of the steroid GPs were banned from using in food-producing animals by the European Union (EU) [ 14 , 15 ]. To protect the consumer health from any potential risks, the EU approved the use of DEX in livestock for therapeutic purposes only and set appropriate maximal residue limits in tissues and milk intended for human consumption (Council of the European Communities 1990, Council Regulation 90/2377/EEC) [ 14 ].…”