Aerobic degradation of tylosin in cattle, chicken, and swine excreta.

Tylosin, a fermentation-derived macrolide antibiotic, was tested to determine its aerobic degradation rate in cattle, chicken, and swine excreta. For chicken, excreta from a hen administered 14C-tylosin as part of a metabolism study were used. For cattle and swine, 14C-tylosin was added to control excreta. The formation of 14C volatile breakdown products and 14CO2 was not observed throughout the study. Material balance for the carbon-14 label ranged between 94% and 104%. Initial, day-0, concentrations of tylosin-A averaged 119.52+/-4.39, 35.01+/-1.34, and 62.82+/-2.11 microg/g (dry weight basis) for cattle, chicken, and swine excreta samples, respectively. After 30 days, samples averaged 4.16+/-0.69 and 4.11+/-0.69 microg/g tylosin-A in cattle and swine excreta, respectively. No residues of tylosin-A or its factors were apparent in the chicken excreta samples after 30 days of incubation. In each case, tylosin declined to less than 6.5% of the initial level after 30 days. Calculated first-order half-lives under the test conditions were 6.2 days, <7.6 days, and 7.6 days for cattle, chicken, and swine excreta, respectively. The results indicate that tylosin residues degrade rapidly in animal excreta. Therefore, tylosin residues should not persist in the environment.