The gas/mass method for clenbuterol determination and quantification in bovines from two abattoirs

Abstract

A methodology was established and standardized to determine clenbuterol presence using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and it was applied to analyze for clenbuterol presence in liver tissue of bovines slaughtered in two abattoirs in Mérida, Yucatan, Mexico. To standardize the methodology, a standard clenbuterol chlorhydrate sample was run, the equipment's minimum detection and quantification limits were determined, method repeatability was confirmed, and percentage of clenbuterol recovered was calculated. Liver samples were taken from animals slaughtered in the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine abattoir (n= 50) and the Merida municipal abattoir (n= 88). A randomized experimental design was used. Equipment detection limit was 113.2 ng. Method detection limit was 0.55 ppm and quantification limit was 2.76 ppm. The variation coefficient was lower than 5 %. Clenbuterol recovery was 90.2 %. All liver sample analyses produced negative results for clenbuterol, indicating that clenbuterol was not administered to the sampled animals before or during the sampling period. The results establish the GC/MS method as a reliable method for clenbuterol detection.