Abstract
A method for determination of thymol and carvacrol in milk and plasma of dairy cows was developed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and headspace solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME). The limits of quantification were set at 0.5 and 2.0 ng mL-1 for both analytes in plasma and milk, respectively, with appropriate precision and accuracy. For quantification of thymol, the results obtained with the established methodology were superior compared with others reported in the literature, achieving lower limit of quantification. Concerning to carvacrol, this is the first methodology described in the literature for the analysis of this compound in plasma and milk of cows. The analytical methodology enabled the identification and quantification of thymol and carvacrol in the plasma and milk of cows after administration of an intra-mammary phytoformulation of veterinary use containing plant essential oils rich in thymol and carvacrol.
Highlights
Thymol and carvacrol are phenolic volatile monoterpenes present in essential oils of various herbs at concentrations ranging between 20 and 98%.1,2 These substances presenting validated antimicrobial activity, mainly against Gram-positive microorganisms,[2,3,4] have been extensively used by food and veterinary industries to combat pathogenic microorganisms resistant to conventionally used antibiotics.[5]Baskaran et al.[6] and McPhee et al.[7] validated the antimicrobial action of thymol and carvacrol againstThe search for more effective and safer antimicrobials than the existing ones, especially innovative drugs from natural sources, has motivated the veterinary industry
Considering that up to now solid-phase microextraction (SPME) has not been used to determine the presence of carvacrol in biological matrices, the aim of this work was to validate the efficiency of such a method for identifying thymol and carvacrol in plasma and milk from dairy cow
The developed method was used to analyze milk and plasma samples obtained from six healthy cows (Girolando race with five years old) after administration of an intra‐mammary formulation containing 1% essential oils rich in thymol and carvacrol
Summary
Thymol and carvacrol are phenolic volatile monoterpenes present in essential oils of various herbs at concentrations ranging between 20 and 98%.1,2 These substances presenting validated antimicrobial activity, mainly against Gram-positive microorganisms,[2,3,4] have been extensively used by food and veterinary industries to combat pathogenic microorganisms resistant to conventionally used antibiotics.[5]Baskaran et al.[6] and McPhee et al.[7] validated the antimicrobial action of thymol and carvacrol againstThe search for more effective and safer antimicrobials than the existing ones, especially innovative drugs from natural sources (e.g., mainly medicinal plants), has motivated the veterinary industry. Thymol and carvacrol are phenolic volatile monoterpenes present in essential oils of various herbs at concentrations ranging between 20 and 98%.1,2. These substances presenting validated antimicrobial activity, mainly against Gram-positive microorganisms,[2,3,4] have been extensively used by food and veterinary industries to combat pathogenic microorganisms resistant to conventionally used antibiotics.[5]. The presence of antimicrobial residues in milk is one of the biggest challenges of the food and veterinary industries worldwide, because they interfere with the production of dairy products and may cause hypersensitivity and resistance to microorganisms in humans, especially if the concentrations.
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