Hair Analysis to Monitor the Illegal Use of Salbutamol in Beef Cattle.

This study measured the concentrations of salbutamol residues in red and white hair of cattle during and after salbutamol administration. Three Chinese Simmental beef cattle received an oral administration of 150 μg/kg body weight/d salbutamol for 21 consecutive days. Salbutamol concentrations were determined on Days 1, 7, 14, and 21 of administration and on Days 7, 14, 28, 42, and 70 following the last administration dose using ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The concentrations of salbutamol that eluted from hair were determined. The results revealed that salbutamol concentrations were higher in red hair than in white hair on the same sampling day (P < 0.01). In red hair, salbutamol concentrations increased from 29.82 ± 1.8 ng/g on Day 1 of administration to 442.55 ± 250.29 ng/g on Day 21 of administration, and decreased to 33.36 ± 19.22 ng/g on Day 70 after the last administration. In white hair, salbutamol concentrations changed from 4.25 ± 0.32 ng/g on Day 1 of administration to 33.81 ± 6.44 ng/g and 12.25 ± 2.51 ng/g on Days 14 and 70, respectively, after the last administration. The concentrations of salbutamol that eluted from white hair on Days 1 and 7 were 22.94 ± 2.00 ng/g and 92.94 ± 22.49 ng/g, respectively. Our findings revealed that hair is an appropriate biological matrix for assessing the illegal use of salbutamol in animal husbandry.