Volume: 4, 2025
4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland:
ENVIRONMENT – PLANT – ANIMAL – PRODUCT
Abstract number: A026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.A026
Published online: 9 April 2025
ICDSUPL, 4, A026 (2025)
The effect of early administration of doxycycline, enrofloxacin, or monensin on antibiotic levels in the liver and breast muscles of turkeys
Radosław Smagieł1*, Ewelina Cholewińska1, Anna Stępniowska1, Katarzyna Ognik1, Dariusz Mikulski2, Jan Jankowski2
1 Department of Biochemistry and Toxicology, University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Akademicka 13, 20-950 Lublin, Poland
2 Department of Poultry Science and Apiculture, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Oczapowskiego 5, 10-719 Olsztyn, Poland
* Corresponding author: radoslaw.smagiel@up.lublin.pl
Abstract
The study aimed to determine the effect of early antibiotic administration and simultaneous feeding with a diet containing a coccidiostat (additive effect) on the accumulation of these chemical compounds in the turkeys’ liver and breast muscle. The experiment was conducted on 1,144 1-day-old Hybrid Converter turkey hens, allocated to four experimental groups. Group C (control) did not receive any antimicrobial agents, Group M received only monensin (MON), and groups ME and MD, in addition to monensin, received an antibiotic enrofloxacin (ENR, 10 mg/kg b.w.) or doxycycline (DOX, 50 mg/kg b.w.) for the first 5 days of life. Monensin was administered in the feed at a dose of 90 mg/kg for the first 56 days of the birds’ lives. The experiment was conducted until the 112th day of the turkey hens’ lives. On the 7th, 21st, 56th, and 112th day of rearing, 8 turkey hens from each experimental group were sacrificed and dissected, during which fragments of liver (all experimental terms) and breast muscle (all experimental terms except day 7) were collected for further laboratory analyses. The levels of monensin, enrofloxacin, and doxycycline in the collected biological material were determined using a high-performance liquid chromatograph coupled with a mass spectrometer. The conducted studies showed that the level of MON in the liver of the turkey receiving only MON in the diet was the highest on the 7th day of life, then decreased on the 21st day, and then increased again on the 56th day. However, this value was lower than that observed on the 7th day. The level of this compound in the liver of turkeys given simultaneous DOX in the early days of life and MON in the diet showed a similar trend; however, it was the highest on the 56th day of life of the tested birds. The level of MON in the liver of turkey hens receiving simultaneously ENR and MON increased in the subsequent research terms and was the highest on the 56th day of life of the birds. The simultaneous administration of MON and antibiotics to turkeys limited the accumulation of MON in the liver at the early stage of rearing (days 7 and 21) while intensifying it at a later stage, which was particularly visible, especially for ENR. However, in each of the analyzed terms and each of the experimental groups, the levels of MON in the liver were lower than the MRL (10 µg/kg). The level of MON in the liver of 112-day-old birds decreased to single-digit values in all experimental groups. In the liver of turkey hens receiving the antibiotic DOX or ENR in the early stage of life and simultaneously fed a diet containing MON, a progressive decrease in the level of the analyzed antibiotic was noted. Although the level of DOX in the liver of 7, 21, and 56-day-old birds was significantly higher than the level of ENR in analogous experimental terms, on the 112th day of rearing, it decreased to undetectable values in the tissue, while the content of ENR in the liver was 3.045 µg/kg. The content of each of these antibiotics in the liver of 112-day-old birds was, however, significantly below the MRL values of 300 µg/kg for DOX and 200 µg/kg for ENR, respectively. In the breast muscle of turkey hens that were given only MON in their diet, an increase in the level of this compound was noted on day 56 of life compared to day 21, while the MON content in the analyzed tissue in turkey receiving both the diet containing MON and DOX in the early days of life was higher on day 21 of life and decreased significantly on day 56. The MON content in the breast muscle of turkey that were given ENR in the early days of life and a diet containing MON was comparable on days 21 and 56 of life. In the breast muscle of 112-day-old turkey hens, regardless of the antimicrobial agent or their combination, no MON or antibiotics were detected. The research results indicate that although at the earlier stages of turkey rearing the presence of monensin, enrofloxacin, and doxycycline was detected in both the liver and the breast muscle, in 112-day-old birds, their content decreased to values significantly below the MRL, which suggests an effective biotransformation of these chemical compounds in the body.
This work was supported by the National Science Centre in Poland, Grant No. 2020/39/B/NZ9/00765.
Keywords: antibiotic, poultry, coccidiostat
How to cite
R. Smagieł, E. Cholewińska, A. Stępniowska, K. Ognik, D. Mikulski, J. Jankowski, 2025. The effect of early administration of doxycycline, enrofloxacin, or monensin on antibiotic levels in the liver and breast muscles of turkeys. In: 4th International PhD Student’s Conference at the University of Life Sciences in Lublin, Poland: Environment – Plant – Animal – Product. https://doi.org/10.24326/ICDSUPL4.A026