Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of natural profiles of androgens, progestogens, and glucocorticoids in muscle tissue of male cattle
S. Fritsche et al., Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric determination of natural profiles of androgens, progestogens, and glucocorticoids in muscle tissue of male cattle, EUR FOOD RE, 209(6), 1999, pp. 393-399
A rapid and economical method was developed for the simultaneous determinat
ion of androgens, progestogens, and glucocorticoids and their precursors an
d metabolites in meat. Steroids were isolated with liquid extraction follow
ed by C-18-solid-phase extraction (C-18-SPE). Corticoids were separated fro
m the less polar steroids by Si-SPE. The non-polar steroids required additi
onal purification by filtration through an NH2 cartridge. The fractions wer
e combined and derivatized with a universally applicable trimethylsilylatio
n of both hydroxyl and keto groups. Determination was performed with gas ch
romatography-mass selective detection (determination limits: 0.02-0.1 mu g/
kg). Hormone profiles of 15 muscle tissue samples of both bulls and steers
were analysed. Beef from bulls contained higher concentrations of testoster
one and epitestosterone (P<0.001), 11-deoxycorticosterone (P<0.01), androst
enedione (P<0.05) and cortisone (P<0.05), and significantly lower proportio
ns of cortisol (P<0.001) than beef from steers.