ANALYSIS OF OXONIC ACID, URIC-ACID, CREATINE, ALLANTOIN, XANTHINE ANDHYPOXANTHINE IN POULTRY LITTER BY REVERSE-PHASE HPLC

A separation method has been developed to extract organic compounds fr om poultry manure and litter and subsequently analyze these extracts u sing reverse phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. Specifically, the method may be used to quantify oxonic acid, allantoin, creatine, u ric acid, xanthine and hypoxanthine in poultry manure samples. In a re presentative sample of fresh poultry manure, oxonic acid, allantoin, c reatine, uric acid and xanthine were present at concentrations of 2.4, 2.7, 3.9, 270 and 0.8 mg/g dry manure, respectively. Litter samples s tored for eight or sixteen weeks showed the presence of hypoxanthine b ut no longer contained detectable quantities of creatine. Allantoic ac id and urea, both previously shown to be present in the litter samples , could not be distinguished by the chromatographic technique. Orotic acid and uracil, although capable of being separated by the method, we re not detected in any poultry litter samples.