DETERMINATION OF NITROFURAN RESIDUES IN POULTRY MUSCLE TISSUES AND EGGS BY LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method was developed and statistically v alidated for the determination of nitrofurazone, furazolidone, and fur altadone residues in poultry and porcine muscle tissues. The antimicro bial residues were extracted with a mixture of dichloromethane and eth yl acetate by using ultrasonication followed by solid-phase extraction cleanup and LC analysis with UV detection. A modification of the meth od incorporating acetonitrile extraction and solvent partition cleanup was developed for analysis of poultry eggs. The limits of detection w ere 1 mug/kg for nitrofurazone and furazolidone and 2 mug/kg for fural tadone in both muscle tissues and eggs. Average recoveries for spike l evels of 1, 2, and 5 mug/kg ranged from 84 to 128%, and coefficients o f variation were between 1.1 and 12.1%. A field trial with these metho ds was conducted in conjunction with the Western Australian Department of Agriculture to determine the stability of furaltadone in both poul try tissue and eggs. Results of this study show that the concentration of furaltadone in muscle tissue diminished rapidly even when stored a t -18-degrees-C. Furaltadone was considerably more stable in eggs.