Transfer of dietary sulphamonomethoxine and sulphadimethoxine into various tissues of laying hens

Egg residue considerations during the treatment of backyard poultry

The purpose of this digest was to provide US veterinarians guidance on the responsible treatment of backyard poultry flocks. The treatment of backyard poultry can be a daunting task for veterinarians because only limited resources are available; however, it is likely to become an increasingly common task owing to the increasing popularity of backyard poultry throughout the United States, especially in urban and suburban areas. Although backyard poultry flock owners may consider their birds pets, the FDA considers them food-producing animals, and veterinarians should follow all regulations that pertain to food-producing animals when administering or prescribing drugs to those birds. The lack of FDA-approved drugs for use in laying hens frequently necessitates the use of drugs in an extralabel manner in backyard poultry. Unfortunately, information regarding the depletion of drug residues in eggs from hens treated with various drugs in an extralabel manner is sparse or lacking, and veterinarians need to be cognizant of this issue, especially when the eggs from treated hens are intended for human consumption.

Pharmacokinetics of veterinary drugs in laying hens and residues in eggs: a review of the literature

Poultry treated with pharmaceutical products can produce eggs contaminated with drug residues. Such residues could pose a risk to consumer health. The following is a review of the information available in the literature regarding drug pharmacokinetics in laying hens, and the deposition of drugs into eggs of poultry species, primarily chickens. The available data suggest that, when administered to laying hens, a wide variety of drugs leave detectable residues in eggs laid days to weeks after the cessation of treatment.

Transfer and distribution profiles of dietary sulphonamides in the tissues of the laying hen

The five sulphonamides, sulphadiazine (SDZ), sulphadimidine (SDD), sulphamethoxazole (SMX), sulphamonomethoxine (SMM) and sulphaquinoxaline (SQ), were fed to laying hens at a dietary concentration of 100 mg kg(-1), respectively. On the 7th day after the start of feeding, the drug concentrations in the plasma, muscle and the main tissues involved in egg formation, the liver, and ovary and oviducts (magnum and isthmus plus shell grand) were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Dietary sulphonamides were distributed throughout the above tissues. SQ was found at the highest concentration in all tissues, while the reverse was true for SDD. The ratio of SDD concentrations in the main tissues involved in egg formation to that in the plasma were greater than those for the other drugs.

Transference of dietary veterinary drugs into eggs

Twelve veterinary drugs, bacitracin (BC), chloramphenicol (CAP), chlortetracycline (CTC), oxytetracycline (OTC), tylosin (TS), amprolium (APL), furazolidone (FZD), nicarbazine (NCZ), ormetoprium (OMP), sulfadimidine (SDD), sulfadimethoxine (SDM) and sulfamonomethoxine (SMM) were fed to laying hens for 14 days, each at a dietary concentration of 500 mg/kg. The concentrations of the drugs in the eggs from these birds were determined at 2-day intervals for 14 days after the start of feeding. The relationship between the concentrations of the drugs (mg/kg) in the eggs and the number of days after the start of feeding was analysed by regression and covariance analyses. The concentrations of the drugs in the eggs became constant after 4 days for OTC, TS, FZD and all the sulfonamides, and after 6 days for CAP, APL, NCZ and OMP. No BC or CTC was detected in the eggs. The transfer rates of the 10 drugs (excluding BC and CTC) from the feed to eggs varied from 0.005% for TS up to 1.540% for SDD.

Tissue concentrations of sulphaquinoxaline administered in the food of laying hens

1. Sulphaquinoxaline (SQ) was fed to laying hens at a dietary level of 400 mg/kg for 3 successive days. SQ contents (mg/kg) in the blood, kidney, liver, ovary, muscle (thigh) and adipose tissue collected on 1, 2, and 3 d after the start of feeding were determined by HPLC. The relationship between the SQ content in the tissues and times (d) of SQ feeding was analyzed statistically. 2. Dietary SQ was distributed throughout the whole body. 3. Contents in tissues, except the kidney, had already reached a plateau by day 1 after the start of administration whereas in the kidney it increased linearly throughout the 3 days. 4. The plateau values of SQ in the tissues were much greater than those of sulphamonomethoxine and sulphadimethoxine.

Absorbability of sulphamonomethoxine and sulphadimethoxine administered via food of laying hens

Sulphamonomethoxine (SMM) or sulphadimethoxine (SDM) were fed each to four laying hens at a dietary content of 400 p.p.m. 1000 p.p.m. of chromic oxide were supplemented to the experimental diets as an indicator for the absorbability in the gastrointestinal tract. SMM and SDM contents (p.p.m.) in the large intestine, determined 16 h after the start of feeding, were measured by HPLC. Average amounts of SMM and SDM in the dry matter of the large intestine were 12.3 and 30.2 p.p.m., respectively. The absorption ratios of SMM and SDM administered via the food were calculated to be 96.9 and 92.5%, respectively.

Decreasing profile of residual sulphaquinoxaline in eggs

1. Sulphaquinoxaline (SQ) was added to the diet of laying hens at 200 mg/kg for 7 successive days. Contents (mg/kg) of SQ in albumen and egg yolk of eggs laid after drug withdrawal were determined by high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC). The contents in the whole egg were calculated taking into consideration the respective weights of albumen and egg yolk. 2. A time-lag in the initiation of decrease of SQ from eggs after the withdrawal of dietary SQ was observed. 3. The decreasing pattern from whole egg could be well described by the following equation with a time-lag of 1.0 d, y = 2.07 e-0.5620(t-1.0), where y is the SQ content in whole egg, t is time (d) after the withdrawal of dietary SQ and a constant of 2.07 is the SQ content in whole egg laid at the withdrawal. 4. Biological half-life of SQ in the whole egg was estimated to be 1.23 d. 5. From the above equation, SQ residue of whole egg laid at 9th d after withdrawal will be below the detection limit of 0.01 mg/kg.

Depletion of dietary sulphamonomethoxine and sulphadimethoxine from various tissues of laying hens

Sulphamonomethoxine (SMM) or sulphadimethoxine (SDM) was fed to laying hens at 400 mg/kg diet for 5 successive days. After withdrawal of the drugs, contents (mg/kg) of SMM and SDM in the blood, kidney, liver, ovary, muscle and adipose tissue were determined by HPLC. 2. The disappearance of dietary SMM and SDM from the tissues of laying hens was rapid and, except for the liver, was very similar in all tissues. 3. A common biological half-life (t1/2) of SMM in the above 6 tissues was estimated to be 5.2 h. The t1/2 of SDM in the liver was 6.9 h, significantly longer than that of 4.4 h in the other 5 tissues. The values were much shorter than 51/2 (reported elsewhere) for other drugs. 4. Comparing the data found in this study with those obtained from previous papers, the depletion velocities of SMM and SDM from the hen's body were much faster than those from albumen in egg. The reason for this is probably related to the longer time period over which albumen formation occurs.