Novel strategies for tracing the exposure of meat cattle to illegal growth-promoters.
Official monitoring of residues in cattle throughout the European Union in 2007 found <0.2% non-compliance for the use of illegal growth-promoters (GPs), including sex steroids, corticosteroids and β-agonists. There is evidence, however, that these figures may underestimate the real incidence of GP abuse in meat cattle breeding. One source of evidence arises from the introduction of new detection strategies in response to the demand for safe and wholesome food. These strategies are based on the biological effects of the different GP classes in target species, with a focus on identifying reliable and cost effective biomarkers to improve detection methods. This review summarises the published data relating to experimental and field studies performed in meat cattle, emphasising the impact of the 'omic' technologies and bioinformatics to discover suitable biomarkers for residue surveillance. Further research is required before any potential biomarkers can be utilised for large scale high throughput screening tests.
Nebbia
C
C
Dipartimento di Patologia Animale, Sezione di Farmacologia e Tossicologia, Università di Torino, via Leonardo da Vinci 44, 10095 Grugliasco, Turin, Italy. carlo.nebbia@unito.it
Urbani
A
A
Carletti
M
M
Gardini
G
G
Balbo
A
A
Bertarelli
D
D
Girolami
F
F
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D000818:Animals; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis; D002417:Cattle; D017277:Drug Approval / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D004350:Drug Residues / Q000032:analysis*; D005062:European Union; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D013006:Growth Hormone / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis; D006133:Growth Substances / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000032:analysis*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis*; D015813:Substance Abuse Detection / Q000379:methods / Q000662:veterinary*
D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000318:Adrenergic beta-Agonists; D015415:Biomarkers; D012739:Gonadal Steroid Hormones; D006133:Growth Substances; D013006:Growth Hormone