Liquid chromatographic determination of spiramycin residues in chicken tissues

A liquid chromatographic (LC) method is described for determination of spiramycin residues in chicken muscles. The drug is extracted from muscles with acetonitrile, the extract is concentrated to 3-4 mL and rinsed with n-hexane followed by ethyl ether, and the drug is extracted with chloroform. LC analysis is carried out on a Zorbax BP-C8 column, and spiramycin is detected spectrophotometrically at 231 nm. Recoveries of spiramycin added to chicken muscles at 0.2 and 0.1 ppm were 93.9 and 89.0%, respectively. The detection limit was 5 ng for spiramycin standard, and 0.05 ppm in chicken muscles.