Apidologie 37 (2006) 673-678
DOI: 10.1051/apido:2006042

Chloramphenicol in royal jelly: analytical aspects and occurrence in Italian imports

Silvano Calvarese, Anna Francesca Forti, Giampiero Scortichini and Gianfranco Diletti

Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale dell'Abruzzo e Molise "G. Caporale", Via Campo Boario, 64100 Teramo, Italy

(Received 18 May 2005 - Revised 31 January 2006 - Accepted 31 January 2006 - published online 17 October 2006)

Abstract - Chloramphenicol (CAP) residues were determined in 35 samples of royal jelly. Fourteen samples were collected by Veterinary Border Inspection officials in Milan and Turin and 21 were submitted by private importers to confirm the quality of their product. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) was used for the identification and determination of CAP, according to the isotope dilution approach for the analysis of royal jelly. The presence of chloramphenicol was detected in 29 out of 35 tested samples at concentrations ranging from 0.6 g/kg to 28 g/kg, with an average content of 6.1 g/kg.

Key words: royal jelly / chloramphenicol / residue / antibiotics / liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry

Corresponding author: s.calvarese@izs.it

© INRA, DIB-AGIB, EDP Sciences 2006