Abstract
The use of veterinary drugs in animal production is a common practice to secure animal and human health. However, residues of administrated drugs could be present in animal food products. Levels of drugs in food of animal origin are regulated within the European Union. In recent years, residues have been detected not only in food, but also in the environmental elements such as water or soil, meaning that humans are involuntarily exposed to these substances. This article presents a multiclass method for the analysis of various therapeutic groups of pharmaceuticals in human feces. Pharmaceuticals are extracted from feces with an acid extraction solvent, and after filtration the extract was analyzed by HPLC–MS/MS. A limit of detection of 10 ng/g was achieved for 9 pharmaceuticals, with linearity over 0.99 and repeatability and reproducibility lower than 20%. The method was satisfactorily applied in 25 feces samples of individuals that had declared not to be under medical treatment for the last two months. Results indicate the presence of six different compounds at concentration between 10 and 456 ng/g. This preliminary study showed the involuntary exposure of human gut microbiota to active substances such as pharmaceuticals
Highlights
Direct consumption of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of diseases is inevitable.humans are exposed through diet to the consumption of low concentrations of these active compounds in an unintentional way
Maximum residue limits (MRL) of pharmacologically active substances in foodstuffs of animal origin within the European Union are established in the Regulations 37/2010 [2] and 124/2009 [3]
MRL is the maximum concentration of a specific veterinary medicine that can be in food expressed in mg/kg or μg/kg (European commission, 2001) [4]
Summary
Direct consumption of pharmaceuticals for the treatment of diseases is inevitable.humans are exposed through diet to the consumption of low concentrations of these active compounds in an unintentional way. One route of involuntary intake of pharmaceuticals is the consumption of food of animal origin. Depending on the animal species and the pharmacokinetics of the pharmaceutical, residues of these active compounds in the final food will be different. Maximum residue limits (MRL) of pharmacologically active substances in foodstuffs of animal origin within the European Union are established in the Regulations 37/2010 [2] and 124/2009 [3]. MRLs are calculated on the basis of an estimate amount of the substance present in food, considering a standard shopping basket, the acceptable daily intake (ADI), and which can be consumed daily over a lifetime without appreciable health risk. According to the different international organisms, including the European Food Safety Agency, these residues in food must not endanger the health of the consumer
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