Determination and confirmation of selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibitors in bovine and porcine urine using UHPLC-MS/MS

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMs), anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibitors are prohibited in human sports doping. However, they also present a risk of being used illegally in animal husbandry for fattening purposes. A method was developed and validated using UHPLC-MS/MS for the determination and confirmation of SERMs, anti-estrogens and aromatase inhibiters in bovine and porcine urine. This method was used in a survey of more than 200 bovine and porcine urine samples from Dutch farms. In 18 out of 103 porcine urine samples (17%) and two out of 114 bovine samples (2%) formestane, an aromatase inhibitor, was detected. None of the other compounds was detected. From human doping control it is known that formestane can, in some cases, be of natural origin. Analyses of reference samples from untreated bovine and porcine animals demonstrated the presence of formestane in bovine animals, but not yet in porcine animals. Future research will focus on whether the detected formestane in porcine and bovine urine is from endogenous or exogenous origin, using GC-c-IRMS.

选择性雌激素受体调节剂（Selective estrogen receptor modulators, SERMs）、抗雌激素类物质与芳香化酶抑制剂在人类体育兴奋剂管制中均为违禁物质。然而此类物质亦存在被非法用于畜禽养殖育肥的风险。研究人员开发并验证了一种超高效液相色谱-串联质谱（UHPLC-MS/MS）检测方法，可用于牛、猪尿液中选择性雌激素受体调节剂、抗雌激素类物质及芳香化酶抑制剂的定性定量分析与确证。该方法被应用于荷兰农场采集的200余份牛、猪尿液样本的调研检测。在103份猪尿液样本中检出18份（占比17%）芳香化酶抑制剂福美司坦（formestane），114份牛尿液样本中检出2份（占比2%），其余目标化合物均未被检出。根据人类兴奋剂管制领域的现有认知，福美司坦在部分情形下可内源性生成。对未接触违禁物质的牛、猪参考样本的分析结果显示，牛尿液中可检出福美司坦，但此前尚未在猪尿液中检测到该物质。后续研究将采用气相色谱-燃烧-同位素比质谱（GC-c-IRMS）技术，进一步探明本次检出的猪、牛尿液中的福美司坦究竟源自内源性还是外源性途径。