17b-Boldenone(3) [HRP]

BACKGROUND: According to European Union legislation, prednisolone, a steroid that belongs to the glucocorticosteroid group, is banned as a growth promoter in cattle husbandry and therefore should not be present in bovine feedstuffs. As our preliminary investigations detected prednisolone in this matrix, we performed a study on different commercially available complementary feedstuffs, stored at the farm and/or in the laboratory, in order to verify whether its presence was due to neo-formation during storage. RESULTS: Prednisolone was detected in almost all (95%) feedstuffs collected at the farm. When the feedstuffs were stored at the laboratory, the frequency (31%) and the concentration of prednisolone-positives were lower. This difference, which is likely due to different environmental conditions, implies the possibility of its neo-formation. CONCLUSION: Our data indicate that the neo-formation of prednisolone can occur in feedstuff, and that the frequency and concentration could be related to the storage conditions. The individuation of an objective parameter that is useful for the identification of the compliance of feed is therefore essential. (C) 2014 Society of Chemical Industry

A 6-month calf was treated with 1 mg kg(-1) wet weight of 17-beta-boldenone undecanoate and urine and faeces were collected for a period of 30 days after the treatment to follow the depletion of the different substances related to boldenone. Hair was collected for just a few days. Multiresidue extraction and purification methods were developed for the different matrices. Separation was carried on a RP-C 18 LC column and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) detection was performed using an ion trap mass spectrometer equipped with electrospray source for urine and with atmospheric pressure chemical ionisation for faeces. The concentration found for the different analytes was discussed compared to a control animal. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.