Detection of Nandrolone Decanoate and Its Metabolites in Equine Hair After Intramuscular Administration

This paper describes the detection of nandrolone decanoate and its metabolites in mane hair collected from horses that have been treated with nandrolone decanoate (Deca-Durabolin). The intramuscular administration study of nandrolone decanoate in three Thoroughbred castrated horses (each received 800 mg weekly for 3 consecutive weeks) was previously conducted to investigate its metabolism and detection time in plasma and urine for doping control purposes. In this work, segmental analysis of the post-administration hair has revealed that (i) nandrolone decanoate and its metabolites, nandrolone and 4-estrene-3,17-dione, could be detected in horse mane after intramuscular administration, and (ii) the spreading of these substances along the entire hair strand was observed, which suggested the involvement of sweat or sebum incorporation.