The development and validation of a rapid method for the determination of nitrofurans in honey using high pressure liquid chromatography - tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS-MS)

Over the past decade, Ukraine has been one of the leaders in exporting honey to EU countries. The main obstacle to increasing the export of Ukrainian honey to EU countries is the discrepancy of honey safety indicators with the requirements of importing countries. This is due to the use of a significant number of drugs with antimicrobial spectrum of action in the treatment and prevention of diseases of bees, the remains of which fall into honey. In domestic honey, according to recent data, the remains of such groups of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents as chloramphenicol, nitrofuran, nitroimidazole, sulfanilamides, tetracyclines and aminoglycosides are most commonly found.The nitrofurans, which are quite stable, can be stored in honey for a long time and are not destroyed even at high temperatures. Therefore, the urgent question remains the development and introduction into practice of laboratory analysis of a sensitive and reliable method for determining the residual amounts of nitrofurans in honey.The method developed by us allows us to determine the residual amounts of metabolites of nitrofurans in honey, namely: furazolidone derivative - 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ), furaltadone-3-amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidinone (AMOZ), nitrofurase-semicarbazide SEM) and nitrofurantoin-1-aminohydandomine (AHD).The use of drugs nitrofuran number in the treatment and prevention of infectious diseases of bees involves the receipt of their metabolites in honey in the human body.The conducted studies revealed that nitrofurantoin (38% of honey samples) was used most often in beekeeping, followed by fureladone (24%), while nitrofurase and furazolidone were used equally in 19% of honey samples, respectively.The conducted studies revealed 4 metabolites of nitrofurans in natural honey, namely the metabolite furazolidone 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ), nitrofurase-semicarbazide (SEM), furaltadone-3-amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidinone (AMOZ), and nitrofurantoin- 1-aminohydandomine (AHD).The content of 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ) and semicarbazide (SEM) in honey exceeds the MDR by the norms of Ukraine. According to EU norms, the content of 3-amino-2-oxazolidinone (AOZ), 3-amino-5-morpholinomethyl-2-oxazolidinone (AMOZ) and 1-aminohydinotin (AHD) in honey exceeds MDR and the semicarbazide content (SEM) permissible concentration.