SIMPLE DETERMINATION OF HALOFUGINONE IN CHICKEN TISSUE BY HIGH-PERFORMANCE LIQUID-CHROMATOGRAPHY

A simple and practical method was developed for quantitative analysis of halofuginone (HF) in chicken tissue by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). After extraction with acetate buffer (pH 4.3)-methanol (1:1) from a homogenized sample, the extract was concentrated. HF in the concentrated solution was extracted with ethyl acetate in a centrifuge tube with stopper. The ethyl acetate extract was evaporated to dryness. The residue was dissolved in HPLC mobile phase and the resulting solution was subjected to chromatography. HF was separated on a LiChrosorb RP-18 column (4.0 mm x 25 cm) by using an acetonitrile-acetate buffer (pH 4.3)-water (1:1:4) containing 0.05 M tetra-n-butylammonium bromide as a mobile phase. The recovery of HF in chicken muscle at the level of 1-mu-g/g was 87.4 +/- 1.8% (n = 4). The lower limit of determination was 0.03-mu-g/g in chicken tissue.