Quantitative determination of tetracyclines in medicated feed for food-producing animals by HPLC–DAD

Tetracyclines are a group of antibiotic substances largely administered through medicated feed to control diseases in food-producing animals. Fine dosing of antibiotics contained in medicated feed is crucial for the success of the treatment as well as minimising potential threats such as the spread of antimicrobial resistance and the transfer of antibiotic residues in food. A rapid analytical method based on HPLC with diode array detection (HPLC–DAD) was developed to quantify oxytetracycline, chlortetracycline and doxycycline in medicated feed. The reported method underwent in-house validation and was found to be suitable for the quantification of three target tetracyclines within the concentration range of 40–1000 mg kg−1 in official routine analysis. The method was applied to 103 official samples in the framework of the Italian National Plan on animal feed during the years 2021–2023 and nine non-compliant concentrations were identified in swine and fish feed samples.