Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 15, 2026
In Ovo Feeding of Commercial Broiler Eggs: An Accurate and Reproducible Method to Affect Muscle Development and Growth
Published on: September 20, 2021
Residue depletion of nifuroxazide in broiler chicken
Feng Gao1, Qi Di Zhang, Zhen Hong Zhang
1College of Veterinary Medicine, Agricultural University of Hebei, Baoding Hebei, China 071000.
Background:
Several nitrofuran drugs have been prohibited for use in food producing animals due to their carcinogenic and mutagenic effects. However, one of the nitrofurans, nifuroxazide, is still used as a veterinary drug in some countries. This study was conducted to investigate the residue depletion of nifuroxazide in broiler chicken. Chickens were fed with dietary feeds containing 50 mg kg⁻¹ of nifuroxazide for seven consecutive days. Liver, kidney, muscle and plasma samples were collected at different withdrawal periods, and the residues of parent nifuroxazide and its acid-hydrolysable side chain, 4-hydroxybenzhydrazide (HBH), in these samples were determined.
Results:
Nifuroxazide was metabolised in vivo and its metabolite HBH was formed. Parent nifuroxazide was not detectable in these samples after 14 days of cessation. HBH was detectable in these samples even after 28 days of cessation and the total HBH residues were higher than 1.0 ng g⁻¹. Furthermore, the residue level of tissue bound HBH was much higher than that of free HBH.
Conclusion:
The tissue-bound HBH could be used as a marker to monitor the residue of nifuroxazide in chicken and the best target tissue should be liver. This is the first paper reporting the residue depletion of nifuroxazide in chicken.
