Determination of emamectin benzoate in medicated fish feed: a multisite study

Area of Science:

• Analytical Chemistry
• Food Science
• Veterinary Pharmacology

Background:

• Accurate quantification of veterinary drugs in animal feed is crucial for ensuring animal health and food safety.
• Emamectin benzoate is used in aquaculture, necessitating reliable analytical methods for its detection in medicated feed.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a new quantitative method for emamectin benzoate in medicated fish feed.
• To establish the method's performance characteristics, including precision, recovery, linearity, and sensitivity.

Main Methods:

• The method involves wet methanolic extraction of ground feed, followed by solid-phase extraction.
• Analysis is performed using a gradient liquid chromatographic system.

Main Results:

• Mean recoveries ranged from 89% to 97% across three laboratories and three concentration levels.
• Coefficients of variation for precision were between 0.6% and 5.8%, with linearity (r²) > 0.993.
• The method demonstrated a quantitation limit of 0.5 ppm.

Conclusions:

• The developed method is precise, accurate, and sensitive for quantifying emamectin benzoate in medicated fish feed.
• The multisite study validated the method's reliability for routine analysis in different laboratory settings.