The disposition of oxytetracycline to feathers after poultry treatment

Abstract

In the combat against bacterial resistance, there is a clear need to check the use of antibiotics in animal husbandry, including poultry breeding. The use of chicken feathers as a tool for the detection of use of antibiotics was investigated. An extraction method for the analysis of oxytetracycline (OTC) from feathers was developed and was tested by using incurred feathers obtained from a controlled animal treatment study. The use of McIlvain-ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid buffer only in combination with acetone gave the highest extraction yield, indicating the need of an organic solvent for feather extraction. By using the developed method, it was found that after a withdrawal time, the OTC concentration in feathers is in the mg kg⁻¹ range, far higher than that in muscle and liver tissue. Based on the analysis of individual segments of feathers from OTC-treated chicken, evidence was found supporting the hypothesis of secretion of antibiotics through the uropygial gland and external spread over feathers by grooming behaviour. It was also found that part of the administered OTC is built into the feather rachis. Finally, we provide the first evidence that the analysis of individual segments of the rachis can be used as a tool to discriminate among different treatment strategies, for example, therapeutic versus subtherapeutic. As a result, we concluded that the analysis of feathers is an extremely valuable tool in residue analysis of antibiotics.

In-House Validation of HPLC-MS/MS Methods for Detection and Quantification of Tetracyclines in Edible Tissues and Feathers of Broiler Chickens

“…These procedure charts detailed all required steps to ensure chemical extraction for all analytes from the different biological matrices we worked with. We established two different SOP based on modifications from methods previously reported by Reveurs and Díaz, 26 Khong et al, 27 Castellari et al 28 and Berendsen et al 13 These two SOP had a few differences due to the divergent structure and composition of the biological matrices, as well as to the presence of interfering elements such as fat and protein in them.…”

“…The extraction procedure for feather samples was based on an analytical methodology described by Berendsen et al 13 For muscle and liver samples, extraction was based on methods described by Reveurs and Díaz, 26 Khong et al 27 and Castellari et al 28 The modifications to these methods allowed their adaption to differences arising from matrix composition and were standardized as a standardized operation procedure (SOP).…”

“…At this point in time, edible tissues had no detectable residue levels (with a detection limit of 1 μg kg -1 ). Meanwhile, Heinrich et al 12 and Berendsen et al 13 studied bioaccumulation of ceftiofur and oxytetracycline in chicken feathers and found evidence of residues of these antimicrobials in them even when withdrawal periods were respected. More importantly, these residues were found even when drug concentrations in muscle and liver samples were either below maximum residue limits (MLR) or not detectable.…”

“…[19][20][21] For the feathers matrix, an analytical methodology for the detection of OTC was described by Berendsen et al 13 Several institutions and organisms have established directives for the validation of analytical methods such as the Codex Alimentarius by FAO, VICH GL 49 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 22 and the 2002/657/CE decision by the European Commission. 23 Based on these international guidelines, this study developed an internal protocol to validate analytical methodologies of HPLC coupled to mass spectroscopy detection (HPLC-MS/MS).…”

Revision of the National Residue Control Plan - application on the red meat supply chain

“…Sampling at the farm has traditionally been limited mainly to urine samples. However, research is currently being done into the possibility of using analyses of feathers to detect instances where the use of antibiotics has not been administered properly (Berendsen et al, 2013;Jansen, Bolck & Berendsen, 2016) and the possibility of detecting prohibited substances in bristles (Becue et al, 2011). This approach would increase the chances of detecting illegal use and prohibited substances because residues of numerous substances remain for longer in hair or bristles and feathers than in meat or urine.…”