Determination of hormonal growth stimulant ractopamine in meat by enzyme immunoassay

Lemyaseva S.V.

Summary

Ractopamine is a drug belonging to the group β-agonist, which stimulates growth of muscle tissue and regulates the ratio of fat and muscle tissue of farm animals.

After contact with the food in the human body metabolic disorders, tachycardia, elevation of blood pressure, arrhythmia or myocardial ischemia, as well as symptoms of food poisoning, such as vomiting, dizziness, lethargy, tremors may be observed. The use of ractopamine is prohibited in the Russian Federation and the European Union, but in many other countries, such as the USA, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and other countries, ractopamine is used in breeding of animals, particularly pigs and cattle.

Authors carried out the research on the development and testing of methods for quantification of ractopamine in meat and liver of pigs and cattle by enzyme immunoassay. At first authors determined the limits of detection of ractopamine in studied samples of beef, pork, and beef liver, received from a variety of countries (Brazil, Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus, Uruguay, Germany, Argentina, Denmark, Paraguay, Russia, Spain, USA). Presence of ractopamine in two samples of pork from Denmark in the amount of 0,516 mg/kg and 0,906 mg/kg was established, as well as in samples of beef liver from the USA, where the concentration of ractopamine exceeded the upper limit of the working range of the method (>8,100 mg/kg).

Key words: hormonal growth promoters, β-agonist, ractopamine, limit of detection, limit of quantification, calibration curve, relative optical density, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, beef liver, beef, pork.

References

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Author affiliation

Lemyaseva Svetlana V., post-graduate student of the laboratory of veterinary sanitation at the border, transport and meat processing plants of the All-Russian Scientific Research Institute of Veterinary Sanitation, Hygiene and Ecology RAAS; 5, Zvenigorodskoe hgw., Moscow, 123022; phone: 8 (925) 340-38-63, e-mail: lemyaseva.svetlana@yandex.ru – responsible for correspondence with the editorial board.