High throughput screening solutions for nitrofurans and Chloramphenicol in shrimp samples

by Swapna Gone, PhD, Clay Knight, PerkinElmer, Inc, USA

Nitrofurans and phenicols are a class of broad-spectrum antibiotics that are widely used to kill or slow down the growth of bacteria in the aquaculture industry. The use of nitrofurans and their metabolites has been banned by several countries and organisations within the European Union, USA and China, due to their harmful side effects to human health.

Nitrofurans have been defined as Class A prohibited drugs in many countries, and a Minimum Required Performance Limit (MRPL) of 1.0µg/kg has been set for food, animal and aquaculture products. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has set a zero tolerance level for the use of Chloramphenicol in animals as a result of its potential side effects in humans, eg, hematological abnormalities, aplastic anemia etc., which are known to be caused in humans exposed to it upon ingestion of food products that contain residues of the drug.
 

In previous studies, nitrofurans were shown to transform rapidly to metabolites which readily bind to protein tissues. The bound metabolites are very stable and are used as an indicator of nitrofuran residues in various food, animal and aquatic products. The most widely used nitrofurans and their metabolites are furazolidone as 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ), nitrofurazone as semicarbazide (SEM), furaltadone as 3-amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidinone (AMOZ) and nitrofurantoin as 1-aminohydantoin (AHD).

In developing countries, the use of a veterinary drugs is prevalent in intensive marine shrimp farming to achieve sustainable production. Rejections of consignments by the importing countries have been recurrent in recent years due to detection of these banned antibiotics. The increasingly complex requirements for food safety assurance and traceability set by major export markets mandates screening for drug residues in the aquaculture industry.

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The Aquaculturists

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