Dietary Exposure Assessment of Veterinary Antibiotics in Pork Meat on Children and Adolescents in Cyprus

Adsorption of ciprofloxacin from aqueous solutions using cellulose-based adsorbents prepared by sol-gel method

Ciprofloxacin (CIP) is one of the most widely used antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. Consequently, there is concern that it may contaminate water resources due to its high usage level. It is therefore necessary to monitor, trace, and reduce exposure to these antibiotic residues. In the current study, the extraction of CIP from water was performed using a green adsorbent material based on cellulose/polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) decorated with mixed metal oxides (MMO). This cellulose/MMO/PVA adsorbent was synthesized using a simple sol-gel method. The prepared adsorbent materials were then characterized using a range of methods, including scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, gas adsorption analysis, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier Transform infrared. The impact of pH, adsorbent dose, contact time, and CIP concentration on ciprofloxacin extraction were examined. The equilibrium and kinetic adsorption data were well described using the Freundlich model (R2 = 0.965). The optimum conditions for CIP adsorption were: pH = 4.5; adsorbent dosage = 0.55 g·L-1; contact time = 83 min; and initial CIP concentration = 2 mg·L-1. The adsorption capacity of the cellulose/MMO/PVA adsorbent for CIP removal was ∼19 mg·g-1 (CIP removal = 86.48 %). This study shows that cellulose/MMO/PVA adsorbents have potential for removing contaminants from aqueous environments.

Health risk assessment of ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, and oxytetracycline residues in raw, frozen, and boiled broiler chicken available in a local area of Bangladesh

Introduction

The misuse of antibiotics in poultry farming is a global issue.

Objective

The focus of this study was the health risk assessment of consumers from the determination of ciprofloxacin (CIP), tetracycline (TC), and oxytetracycline (OTC) in broiler chicken in the raw, frozen, and boiled stages using solid-phase extraction, high-performance liquid chromatography, and ultraviolet detection (SPE-HPLC-UV).

Materials and methods

Chromatographic separation was achieved using 0.3% metaphosphoric acid and acetonitrile (1:10, v/v) for CIP at 280 nm and oxalic acid (0.01 M) and acetonitrile (1:1, v/v) for TC and OTC at 355 nm with different retention times. The method had an acceptable precision with good linearity, specificity, limit of detection, limit of quantification, accuracy, and stability.

Results

Among a total of 252 raw samples, approximately 68.25%, 25.4%, and 7.54% contained CIP, TC, and OTC, respectively. Out of the positive raw samples, CIP exceeded the maximum residual limit (MRL) in 3.6% muscle, 14.3% liver and 17.9% skin samples, whereas TC and OTC were below the MRLs. The residual concentrations of these antibiotics were almost unchanged in frozen samples. After boiling the chicken samples, the TC and OTC residues were reduced significantly compared to CIP. Although the concentrations of CIP in boiled samples were above the MRL set by the European Union, these did not exceed the hazard index 1.

Conclusion

Based on these results, the exposure levels to antibiotics in broiler chicken meats may be considered to have a low risk for human health.

Effects of pharmaceutical and personal care products on pubertal development: Evidence from human and animal studies

Pharmaceutical and personal care products (PPCPs) include a wide range of drugs, personal care products and household chemicals that are produced and used in significant quantities. The safety of PPCPs has become a growing concern in recent decades due to their ubiquitous presence in the environment and potential risks to human health. PPCPs have been detected in various human biological samples, including those from children and adolescents, at concentrations ranging from several ng/L to several thousand μg/L. Epidemiological studies have shown associations between exposure to PPCPs and changes in the timing of puberty in children and adolescents. Animal studies have shown that exposure to PPCPs results in advanced or delayed pubertal onset. Mechanisms by which PPCPs regulate pubertal development include alteration of the hypothalamic kisspeptin and GnRH networks, disruption of steroid hormones, and modulation of metabolic function and epigenetics. Gaps in knowledge and further research needs include the assessment of environmental exposure to pharmaceuticals in children and adolescents, low-dose and long-term effects of exposure to PPCPs, and the modes of action of PPCPs on pubertal development. In summary, this comprehensive review examines the potential effects of exposure to PPCPs on pubertal development based on evidence from human and animal studies.

Tetracycline and sulfadiazine toxicity in human liver cells Huh-7

As typical antibiotics, tetracycline (TC) and sulfadiazine (SDZ) enter the human body through the food chain. Therefore, it is necessary to understand their individual and combined toxicity. In this study, the effects of TC, SDZ, and their mixture on cell viability, cell membrane damage, liver cell damage, and oxidative damage were evaluated in in vitro assays with human liver cells Huh-7. The results showed cytotoxicity of TC, SDZ, and their mixture, which induced oxidative stress and caused membrane and cell damage. The effect of antibiotics on Huh-7 cells increased with increasing concentration, except for lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activity that commonly showed a threshold concentration response and cell viability, which commonly showed a biphasic trend, suggesting the possibility of hormetic responses where proper doses are included. The toxicity of TC was commonly higher than that of SDZ when applied at the same concentration. These findings shed light on the individual and joint effects of these major antibiotics on liver cells, providing a scientific basis for the evaluation of antibiotic toxicity and associated risks.

A novel portable Raman scattering platform for antibiotic screening in pig urine

Background and Aim

Public health and food safety are gaining attention globally. Consumer health can be protected from chemical residues in meat by early detection or screening for antibiotic residues before selling the meat commercially. However, conventional practices are normally applied after slaughtering, which leads to massive business losses. This study aimed to use portable surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) equipped with multivariate curve resolution-alternation least squares (MCR-ALS) to determine the concentrations of enrofloxacin, oxytetracycline, and neomycin concentrations. This approach can overcome the problems of business loss, costs, and time-consumption, and limit of detection (LOD).

Materials and Methods

Aqueous solutions of three standard antibiotics (enrofloxacin, oxytetracycline, and neomycin) with different concentrations were prepared, and the LOD for each antibiotic solution was determined using SERS. Extracted pig urine was spiked with enrofloxacin at concentrations of 10, 20, 50, 100, and 10,000 ppm. These solutions were investigated using SERS and MCR-ALS analysis. Urine samples from pigs at 1 and 7 days after enrofloxacin administration were collected and investigated using SERS and MCR-ALS to differentiate the urinary enrofloxacin concentrations.

Results

The LOD of enrofloxacin, oxytetracycline, and neomycin in aqueous solutions were 0.5, 2.0, and 100 ppm, respectively. Analysis of enrofloxacin spiking in pig urine samples demonstrated the different concentrations of enrofloxacin at 10, 20, 50, 100, and 10,000 ppm. The LOD of spiking enrofloxacin was 10 ppm, which was 10 times lower than the regulated value. This technique was validated for the first time using urine collected on days 1 and 7 after enrofloxacin administration. The results revealed a higher concentration of enrofloxacin on day 7 than on day 1 due to consecutive administrations. The observed concentration of enrofloxacin was closely correlated with its circulation time and metabolism in pigs.

Conclusion

A combination of SERS sensing platform and MCR-ALS is a promising technique for on-farming screening. This platform can increase the efficiency of antibiotic detection in pig urine at lower costs and time. Expansion and fine adjustments of the Raman dataset may be required for individual farms to achieve higher sensitivity.

Antibiotics in urine from general adults in Shenzhen, China: Demographic-related difference in exposure levels

Misuse or overuse of antibiotics can have a variety of detrimental microbial effects. However, the body burden of antibiotics in the general population is currently unclear. In this cross-sectional study, we determined four classes of widely-applied antibiotics (3 imidazoles, 2 sulfonamides, 5 quinolones, and 2 chloramphenicols) in urine samples from 1170 adult residents in Shenzhen, China. Antibiotics were detected in 30.8 % of all urine samples with concentrations ranging from <LOD to 3517 μg/mL, among which metronidazole, ofloxacin and florfenicol were predominant. Notably, antibiotics prohibited for human or veterinary use were detected in 21.0 % of samples, indicating that these antibiotics may still be overused in daily life. We found that the presence of antibiotics in urine is associated with being overweight (OR: 1.386, 95 % CI: 1.056-1.819, p = 0.019) and obesity (OR: 1.862, 95 % CI: 1.103-3.146, p = 0.020) in the adult population. Multilinear regression analysis showed that a percent increase of hydroxy metronidazole was related to 9.86 % positive change of body mass index (p = 0.029). Interestingly, we also found total antibiotic concentration higher in the unmarried group (p = 0.006). Besides, consumption of smoked foods was correlated with urinary antibiotic levels (p = 0.001), indicating smoked meat may be a potential exposure source of veterinary antibiotics. These results highlight the need to reduce human exposure to banned antibiotics. Future research could focus on assessing the health risk and other outcomes of antibiotic overuse.

Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Fluoroquinolone Residues in Chicken and Pork in China

Antibiotics, especially fluoroquinolones, have been exhaustively used in animal husbandry. However, very limited information on the occurrence and exposure assessment of fluoroquinolone residues in chicken and pork in China is available to date. Thus, a total of 1754 chicken samples and 1712 pork samples were collected from 25 provinces in China and tested by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) for residual determination of six common fluoroquinolones. The results revealed that the detection frequencies of fluoroquinolone residues were 3.99% and 1.69% in chicken and pork samples. The overall violation frequencies were 0.68% and 0.41% for chicken and pork. Enrofloxacin and its metabolite ciprofloxacin were found to be the most predominant fluoroquinolones. The occurrence of these antibiotics in different sampling regions and market types was analyzed. The %ADI values of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin were far less than 100, indicating the health risk associated with the exposure to these aforementioned fluoroquinolone residues via chicken and pork for Chinese children, adolescents, and adults was acceptable. The results provided useful references for Chinese consumers, and helped to appropriately use these antibiotics in poultry and livestock industry.

Exposure to antibiotics and precocious puberty in children: A school-based cross-sectional study in China

Foods and water can be contaminated with antibiotics in China, which may affect children's health, but evidence on antibiotic exposure with precocious puberty (PP) is limited. This study explored the association of antibiotic exposure with PP in a school-based setting. A cross-sectional study with multistage stratified cluster random sampling was conducted in Zhongshan City, Guangdong Province and Qufu City, Shandong Province in China from October 11 to December 5, 2019. A first-morning urine sample was collected to detect antibiotic exposure. We detected 33 of 45 types of antibiotics from eight categories in 928 primary school children aged 6-12 years using HPLS-MS/MS. Detection rate of antibiotics was stratified by sex, study site, and BMI. The Tanner stages were assessed by professional pediatricians from local hospitals. PP is defined as the onset of secondary characters before 8-year-old or menarche before 10-year-old for girls and before 9-year-old for boys. Multivariable logistic regression was performed to examine the association between antibiotic exposure and PP after adjusting potential confounders. The overall detection rate of antibiotics was 93.0% in 928 children. We found the detection rate of tetracyclines and fluoroquinolones in children with PP was significantly higher than that of children with normal puberty (41.4% vs 29.9%, 56.8% vs 50.6%, respectively, all p < 0.05). Both fluoroquinolones (odds ratio (OR): 1.835, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.066-3.158) and tetracyclines (OR: 2.120, 95% CI: 1.175-3.825) were associated with increased OR of PP after adjusting sex, age, BMI, study site, and family income. Specifically, compared to the values less than the limits of detection, low concentration of ofloxacin from fluoroquinolones (OR: 2.056, 95% CI: 1.091-3.875) and high concentration of chlortetracycline (OR: 3.027, 95% CI: 1.126-8.140) and tetracycline from tetracyclines (OR: 2.756, 95% CI: 1.167-6.506) were associated with increased OR of PP. Exposure to antibiotics, especially fluoroquinolones and tetracyclines was positively associated with precocious puberty.

Antibiotics in Raw Meat Samples: Estimation of Dietary Exposure and Risk Assessment

The extensive use of antibiotics in livestock farming poses increased concerns for human health as residues of these substances are present in edible tissues. The aim of this study was the determination of the levels of four groups of antibiotics (sulfonamides-SAs, tetracyclines-TCs, streptomycines-STr and quinolones-QNLs) in meat samples (muscles, livers and kidneys from beef, chicken and pork) and the estimation of the dietary exposure to antibiotics from meat consumption and the potential hazard for human health. Fifty-four samples of raw meat were randomly collected in 2018 from the Cretan market, Greece and analyzed both with an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). According to the results derived from the ELISA method, only 2% of the meat samples were free from antibiotics, 2% were detected with 4 antibiotics and the great majority of the samples (87%) were detected with 2 to 3 antibiotics. SAs presented the highest detection frequencies for all samples whereas TCs were not detected in any bovine sample. The highest median concentration was detected for STr in bovine muscles (182.10 μg/kg) followed by QNLs (93.36 μg/kg) in pork kidneys whereas the chicken samples had higher burdens of QNLs compared to the other meat samples. LC-MS analysis showed that oxytetracycline (OTC) was the most common antibiotic in all samples. The highest median concentration of all antibiotics was detected for doxycycline (DOX) (181.73 μg/kg in pork kidney) followed by OTC in bovine liver (74.46 μg/kg). Risk characterization was applied for each of the two methods; The hazard quotients (HQ) did not exceed 0.059 for the ELISA method and 0.113 for the LC-MS method for any group of antibiotics, whereas the total hazard indexes (HI) were 0.078 and 0.021, respectively. The results showed the presence of different groups of antibiotics in meat from the Cretan market and that the health risk to antibiotics is low. A risk assessment analysis conducted for meat consumption and corrected for the aggregated exposure revealed no risk for the consumers.

Health risk assessment of antimicrobial residues in sheep carcasses marketed in Kuwait

A total of 450 samples comprising 150 each of muscles, livers and kidneys were collected from 150 sheep carcasses in Kuwait and tested by both Rapid Premi®Test kits for rapid detection of antimicrobial-positive samples, and the High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) for residual determination of amoxicillin, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, and tylosin. Premi test revealed that 82%, 64% and 100% of the muscle, liver and kidney samples examined, respectively were positive for antimicrobials. HPLC analysis revealed mean concentrations (µg/kg) of 45.26, 148.17, 103.18, and 71.80 for amoxicillin, oxytetracycline, tetracycline, and tylosin respectively in muscles; 64.43, 263.15, 177.04, and 112.94, respectively in livers; and 53.12, 368.21, 196.40, and 138.63, respectively in kidneys. Although many samples exceeded the maximum residue limit (MRL) of Codex Alimentarius, the assessment of dietary exposure to the antimicrobials tested through consumption of sheep meat and organs did not constitute any health hazards in the different age groups of Kuwaiti population.

Recent Developments in the Applications of Fingerprinting Technology in the Food Field

In recent years, the concerns and demands by consumers for the high quality and safety for natural and processed plant-based and animal foods has increased significantly [...]

Prediction of Safety Risk Levels of Veterinary Drug Residues in Freshwater Products in China Based on Transformer

Early warning and focused regulation of veterinary drug residues in freshwater products can protect human health and stabilize social development. To improve the prediction accuracy, this paper constructs a Transformer-based model for predicting the safety risk level of veterinary drug residues in freshwater products in China to conduct a comprehensive assessment and prediction of the three veterinary drug residues with the maximum detection rate in freshwater products, including florfenicol, enrofloxacin and sulfonamides. Using the national sampling data and consumption data of freshwater products from 2019 to 2021, this paper constructs a self-built dataset, combined with the k-means algorithm, to establish the risk-level space. Finally, based on a Transformer neural network model, the safety risk assessment index is predicted on a self-built dataset, with the corresponding risk level for prediction. In this paper, comparison experiments are conducted on the self-built dataset. The experimental results show that the prediction model proposed in this paper achieves a recall rate of 94.14%, which is significantly better than other neural network models. The model proposed in this paper provides a scientific basis for the government to implement focused regulation, and it also provides technical support for the government’s intervention regulation.

Computational Investigation of the Monomer Ratio and Solvent Environment for the Complex Formed between Sulfamethoxazole and Functional Monomer Methacrylic Acid

In this study, the molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) that will be formed by the sulfamethoxazole (SMX) molecule and methacrylic acid (MAA) molecule were examined theoretically. The most stable interaction region between the two molecules was determined in solvent environments (ethanol, acetonitrile, and dimethylsulfoxide), and monomer ratios (SMX/MAA; 1:1, 1:2, and 1:3) were examined to form the most stable geometry. The number and length of the hydrogen bonds formed between the template molecule and the functional monomer and the interaction between the atoms were determined. Geometry optimizations of the molecules were calculated by the DFT method at the M06-2X/ccpVTZ level, and single-point energy calculations were carried out at the B2PLYP-D3/ccpVDZ level. In addition to the theoretical studies, the experimental Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) spectrum of the complex formed between SMX and MAA was compared with the theoretical FTIR spectrum. As a result of the studies, the monomer ratio and solvent environment in which the stable complex was formed were determined in the MIP studies carried out with the SMX template molecule and MAA monomer. The most stable template molecule-monomer ratio of the complex between SMX and MAA was determined to be 1:3, and the solvent medium in which the most stable geometry was formed was acetonitrile.

Antibiotic residues in cattle and sheep meat and human exposure assessment in southern Xinjiang, China

In recent years, antibiotics have become widely used in animal breeding. The application of antibiotics in livestock may lead to the presence of antibiotic residues in animal-derived foods, especially meat, that may pose a threat to human health. In this study, 26 common antibiotics (eight sulfonamides, nine fluoroquinolones, four tetracyclines, and five macrolides) were screened in 88 meat samples (cattle muscles and sheep muscles, kidneys, and livers) obtained from southern Xinjiang. The antibiotics were screened via the clean-up step based on solid-phase extraction and determined through ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Moreover, their risk to human health was analyzed. Overall, 16 antibiotics were detected with a total detection rate of 95.46%. The percentage of noncompliant samples was 28.41% with an exceedance maximum residue limit of 1.14%. The illegal use rate of the antibiotic norfloxacin was 27.27%. The estimated daily exposure doses of all compounds in adults were <102.218 ng/kg bw/day even after applying the worst-case scenario approach. This result demonstrated that the antibiotic residues in the tested samples imposed negligible harm to people's health and had an acceptable level of food safety risk. However, the high detection frequencies found in this work indicated that the risk of antibiotic residues could not be ignored given the cumulative risk of antibiotics, particularly the emergence of bacterial resistance, to the human body. The need for effective strategies and publicity for the judicious use of antibiotics to safeguard residents' health is immediate.

Determination of antibiotic residues in milk and assessment of human health risk in Bangladesh

Consumption of milk contaminated with antibiotic residues above the maximum residue limit (MRL) causes toxicity to humans and the development of superbugs that leads to the failure of antibiotic therapy and threatens human life. Moreover, long-duration exposure might alter the nature of gut microflora, resulting in the enhancement of many diseases. Therefore, our study aims to find out the residues level of selected antibiotics in milk and assessments of humans health risks. We examined 300 raw and processed milk samples using thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) methods against five veterinary antibiotics and assessed the health risk for consumers in Chattogram, Bangladesh. Risk analysis was done by using a hazard quotient based on 165 ml per capita milk consumption. We found a total of 7 % prevalence of antibiotic residues in raw milk, which were higher (8 %) in individual milk samples than the pooled samples (4 %). However, we did not find any antibiotic residues in processed milk. The mean concentration of oxytetracycline residue was detected at 61.29 μg/l, and amoxicillin was 124 μg/l in individual milk samples. Risk analysis showed that, the hazard quotient values are 0.0056 for oxytetracycline and 0.0017 for amoxicillin residues. This result implied no significant health risks associated with the consumption of milk produced and marketed in the study area. Our study might fill up the gaps of knowledge in measuring the safety status of milk regarding public health issues.