Assessment of the distribution and concentration of residual antibiotics in chicken meat and liver samples collected in Tehran by Liquid Chromatography and Tandem Mass Spectrometry

Background: Antibiotics are extensively used as therapeutic, prophylactic and growth promoting agents in the poultry industry. However, their widespread use resulted in the presence of residuals in poultry meat and offals potentially leading to public health hazards. The present research was done to assess the distribution and concentration of residual antibiotics in chicken meat and liver samples. Methods: Ninety chicken meat and liver samples were collected and transferred to laboratory. Presence and concentration of residual tetracyclines, sulfonamides and trimethoprim were assessed using the Liquid Chromatography -Tandem Mass Spectrometry technique. Results: There were no detectable concentrations of tetracyclines in all studied samples. Twenty-eight out of 90 (31.11%) raw meat and 31 out of 90 (34.44%) liver samples were positive for residual sulfonamides. Prevalence of positive meat and liver samples for residual sulfachloropyrazine, sulfadimethoxine and trimethoprim antibiotics were 16.66%, 5.55% and 8.88% and also16.66%, 5.55% and 11.11%, respectively. Sulfathiazole residue was only detected in 1.11% of chicken liver samples. Chicken liver samples had the higher concentrations of all detected residual sulfonamides. Sulfachloropyrazine had the highest concentration in raw chicken meat (20.8±1.88 µg/kg) and liver (24.4±1.54 µg/kg) samples, while sulfadimethoxine had the lowest (6.05±0.25 µg/kg and 9.26±0.36 µg/kg, respectively). Conclusion: All detected concentrations of residual sulfonamides were lower than Maximum Residue Limits (MRLs). Presence of residual antibiotics represents a serious public health treat regarding the occurrence of antibiotic resistant bacterial strains. LC MS/MS has been introduced as a sensitive and specific technique for monitoring and surveillance of residual antibiotics in chicken samples.