Antibiotic use in food animals: determination of enrofloxacin residue in chicken tissue
Kennedy I. Amagon, Sunday O. Olayemi, Moshood Akinleye, Olufunsho Awodele and Bola O. Silva
1Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, College of Medicine, University of Lagos
2Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos
3Department of Pharmaceutics and Pharmaceutical Technology, Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Lagos
4Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Jos
Corresponding author: Kennedy Amagon
Email: pharmken@gmail.com; Phone: +2348095550056
ABSTRACT
Background: Poultry farmers in Nigeria employ the use of various antibiotics with or without the guidance of veterinarians, to promote growth and prevent infections in poultry. Although antibiotics benefit most of its uses, this has led to the accumulation of toxic antibiotic residues in edible poultry products destined for human consumption.
Objective: The present study was aimed at determining the residual amounts of enrofloxacin in chicken muscle samples.
Method: Forty birds were obtained from commercial poultries in Lagos State and randomly allotted into 7 groups. They were humanely sacrificed, dissected and 10.0 g of muscle tissue was sectioned from each drumstick and homogenized in a porcelain mortar. 5.0 g of the homogenate was weighed and transferred into a 5 ml plain sample bottle and processed for analysis by high performance liquid chromatography to determine the amount of enrofloxacin in the tissues.
Results: Enrofloxacin was detected in all samples from the four farms. The mean concentration of enrofloxacin ranged from 23.5 to 88.1 μg/g in all the 7 samples analyzed; these values were higher than the maximum residue level of 0.1 μg/ug in Europe and 0.3 μg/ug in the United States of America.
Conclusion: This study confirmed misuse of enrofloxacin in poultry farms and emphasizes the need for stricter regulation regarding antibiotic use in poultry as well as the screening of chicken for residues before sale.
Keywords: Enrofloxacin, HPLC, Maximum residue limit, Poultry, Residue