A RIKILT yeast estrogen bioassay (REA) for estrogen residue detection in urine of calves experimentally treated with 17β-estradiol

Abstract

17beta-Estradiol is one of the most powerful sex steroids illegally used in bovine production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the application and the specificity of the RIKILT yeast estrogen bioassay (REA) for the detection of molecules with estrogenic activities in the urine of calves experimentally treated with anabolics. Four groups of six calves each received an injection of 17beta-estradiol intramuscularly (group B), androsterone and gliburide (group A), and testosterone (group C) molecules at different dosage for 40 days. Group D was the control. The ability of the REA test to detect estrogenic activity in urine samples from all animals was assessed. All estrogen-treated animals (group B) showed as being positive up to 7 days after administration of the highest dosage of 17beta-estradiol, while the other three groups showed as being negative. The identity of estrogenic molecules in the urine of group B (17beta-estradiol, 17alpha-estradiol) was confirmed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). This is the first time the REA test has been applied to detect 17beta-estradiol in the urine of calves treated with the hormone in vivo. The technique may offer an advantageous laboratory method for the veterinary surveillance of illegal steroid use.

Development and Application of a Screening Method of Absolute Quantitative PCR To Detect the Abuse of Sex Steroid Hormone Administration in Male Bovines

“…Indeed, the administration of low dosages of sex steroid hormones and/or the association with other GPs could not lead to a marked effect on the target tissue, for example, at histological level . Additionally, a few days after the treatment was discontinued, the official analytical methods cannot confirm the treatment . Therefore, in these particular cases the reference methods fail to identify an animal illegally treated with GPs.…”

“…3 Additionally, a few days after the treatment was discontinued, the official analytical methods cannot confirm the treatment. 27 Therefore, in these particular cases the reference methods fail to identify an animal illegally treated with GPs.…”

Effect-based detection of synthetic glucocorticoids in bovine urine

“…Screening and confirmatory GC-MS and multi-residue LC-MS/MS rely on a list based on known molecules. In addition, the multi-analyte screening ability of enzyme immunoassays depends on the limited degree of crossreactivity of the antibody used (Divari et al 2010). Compounding the problem is the increasing practice of administering low-level drug cocktails with considerable biological activity.…”

Evaluation of steroid hormones anabolic use in cattle in Croatia

“…On the analysis of anabolic substance residues, the ability of demonstrating the presence of a particular substance in animal biologic material by the analytical method employed is used as a criterion for the respective substance abuse in meat production. Samples of the liver, kidney, fat and muscle at the slaughterhouse, and urine, feces and hair (Cacciatore et al, 2009;Duffy et al, 2009;Divari et al, 2010), and serum (Scalas et al, 2007) in live animals are most frequently used to determine anabolic substance residues.…”