ABSTRACT
Contamination of food producing animals by veterinary drug residues, particularly quinolones, is an essential issue in food safety that causes increasing concern in consumers. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of enrofloxacin and its main metabolite, ciprofloxacin, in chicken tissue samples slaughtered in Tabriz, Iran. Totally 250 samples including liver, muscle, gizzard, heart, and skin were studied. Dispersive liquid-liquid microextraction technique (DLLME) was used as a simple, high performance, low-cost, and fast sample pre-treatment method followed by a high-performance liquid chromatography with UV detection for quantitative analysis. The residues of enrofloxacin were detected and quantified in 26 liver (52%) and 10 skin (20%) samples and ciprofloxacin residues were detected in 3 skin (6%) samples and accurately determined in 15 liver (30%) samples; however they were not detected in gizzard, heart, and muscle samples. The results showed the accumulation of enrofloxacin and ciprofloxacin residues in chicken liver and skin.
