FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 10000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Drug testing and analysis2020; 12(10); 1462-1469; doi: 10.1002/dta.2896

Doping control analysis of total arsenic in equine plasma.

Abstract: Arsenic can be easily found in our surrounding environment. Because of its ubiquitous nature, horse urine and blood invariably contain low levels of arsenic. Nevertheless, inorganic arsenic, despite its general use as a tonic for horses, is an effective doping agent having a deleterious effect because of its ability to induce gastroenteritis. The misuse of arsenic in horseracing has been controlled by an international urinary threshold of total arsenic at 0.3 μg/mL. However, an equivalent threshold for total arsenic in plasma is yet to be established. In this study, an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry method has been developed for quantifying total arsenic in equine plasma. Statistical analysis determined that the data from a population study of 1,552 post-race and out-of-competition plasma samples fits a Gaussian mixture model with two Gaussian components. A rounded-up provisional threshold for plasma total arsenic at 2.5 ng/mL was subsequently established. Results from administration trials with a sodium arsanilate-containing supplement showed that both urinary and plasma arsenic was significantly elevated after administration. The maximum urinary detection time was around 22 h based on the international threshold. However, the maximum plasma detection time would be longer than 73 h if the provisional threshold of 2.5 ng/mL was adopted. In view of the high discrepancy between the urine and plasma detection times, a revised plasma threshold of 15 ng/mL is proposed to afford a comparable detection time in both matrices. The risk of a normal sample exceeding the proposed plasma total arsenic threshold is practically zero.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2020-07-20 PubMed ID: 32638526DOI: 10.1002/dta.2896Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This study is concerned with developing a method for quantifying arsenic levels in horse blood plasma, with the aim of implementing stricter doping controls in horse racing. Researchers propose a new, provisional threshold for arsenic levels in plasma following the use of a sodium arsanilate supplement.

Background

  • The accessible nature of arsenic means that traces of it are commonly found in horse urine and blood, but inorganic arsenic can have harmful effects if used in large quantities. It’s often used as a tonic for horses, but it can also be misused as a doping agent because it induces gastroenteritis.
  • To control the misuse of arsenic in horse racing, an international threshold has been established for arsenic levels in urine at 0.3 μg/mL. However, no equivalent standard has been set for arsenic in horse plasma.

Aims and Methodology of the study

  • The goal of this research was to develop a reliable method for quantifying total arsenic in equine plasma using inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.
  • The researchers undertook a population study using 1,552 post-race and out-of-competition plasma samples. The data was analyzed statistically and fitted into a Gaussian mixture model with two Gaussian components.

Findings

  • Based on their analysis, the researchers established a rounded-up provisional threshold for plasma total arsenic at 2.5 ng/mL.
  • Administration trial results using a supplement containing sodium arsanilate showed that both urine and plasma arsenic levels significantly increased after administration. Urinary detection time was roughly 22 hours based on the international threshold. Meanwhile, plasma detection time would exceed 73 hours if the provisional threshold of 2.5 ng/mL was used.
  • This significant difference in urine and plasma detection time led the researchers to propose a new threshold for plasma total arsenic at 15 ng/mL to ensure comparable detection times in both matrices. They determined that the risk of a normal sample exceeding this proposed threshold is virtually zero.

Conclusion

  • The findings promote a well-founded plasma threshold that can be utilized for tighter doping regulations within horse racing. More research is required to refine the threshold and gain broader acceptance.
  • The study underpins the usefulness of inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry for arsenic detection, offering a practical solution for monitoring plasma arsenic levels and ensuring a fair and safe horseracing environment.

Cite This Article

APA
Chan GHM, Tang W, Curl P, Lin Y, Wan TSM, Ho ENM. (2020). Doping control analysis of total arsenic in equine plasma. Drug Test Anal, 12(10), 1462-1469. https://doi.org/10.1002/dta.2896

Publication

Drug testing and analysis
ISSN: 1942-7611
NlmUniqueID: 101483449
Country: England
Language: English
Volume: 12
Issue: 10
Pages: 1462-1469

Researcher Affiliations

Chan, George H M
  • Racing Laboratory, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Tang, Wenlu
  • Department of Statistics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Curl, Peter
  • Department of Veterinary Regulation, Welfare and Biosecurity Policy, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Lin, Yuanyuan
  • Department of Statistics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Wan, Terence S M
  • Racing Laboratory, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.
Ho, Emmie N M
  • Racing Laboratory, The Hong Kong Jockey Club, Sha Tin Racecourse, Sha Tin, New Territories, Hong Kong, China.

MeSH Terms

  • Animals
  • Arsenic / administration & dosage
  • Arsenic / blood
  • Doping in Sports
  • Horses / blood
  • Male
  • Mass Spectrometry
  • Substance Abuse Detection

Grant Funding

  • Direct Grants for Research, The Chinese University of Hong Kong
  • 14306219 / Hong Kong Research Grants Council
  • 14311916 / Hong Kong Research Grants Council

References

This article includes 21 references
  1. Mandal BK, Suzuki KT. Arsenic round the world: a review.. Talanta 2002;58(1):201-235.
  2. Bencko V, Yan Li Foong F. The history of arsenical pesticides and health risks related to the use of agent blue.. Annals of Agricultural and Environmental Medicine: AAEM 2017;24(2):312-316.
  3. Chen AY-Y, Olsen T. Chromated copper arsenate-treated wood: a potential source of arsenic exposure and toxicity in dermatology.. Int J Women's Dermatology 2016;2(1):28-30.
  4. Emadi A, Gore SD. Arsenic trioxide - an old drug rediscovered.. Blood Rev 2010;24(4-5):191-199.
  5. Waxman S, Anderson KC. History of the development of arsenic derivatives in cancer therapy.. Oncologist 2001;6(S2):3-10.
  6. Zhao FJ, McGrath SP, Meharg AA. Arsenic as a food chain contaminant: mechanisms of plant uptake and metabolism and mitigation strategies.. Annu Rev Plant Biol 2010;61(1):535-559.
  7. Huq SM, Joardar JC, Parvin S, Correll R, Naidu R. Arsenic contamination in food-chain: transfer of arsenic into food materials through groundwater irrigation.. J Health Popul Nutr 2006;24(3):305-316.
  8. Bergeland ME, Ruth GR, Stack RL, Emerick RJ. Arsenic toxicosis in cattle associated with soil and water contamination from mining operations.. Proceedings of the 19th Annual Meeting of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians 1976;19:311-316.
  9. Crone DL. Arsenic in horse urine.. Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Control of the Use of Drugs in Racehorses 1982:160-164.
  10. Pace LW, Turnquist SE, Casteel SW, Johnson PJ, Frankeny RL. Acute arsenic toxicosis in five horses.. J Health Popul Nutr 1997;34(2):160-164.
  11. Beck TR. Elements of medical jurisprudence /by.. Philadelphia: Thomas, Cowperthwait; 1838.
  12. Ho ENM, Leung DKK, Wan TSM, Asy W. ICP-MS Detection of Metallic Poisons in Equine Urine.. Proceedings of the 16th International Conference of Racing Analysts and Veterinarians 2007:469-476.
  13. Crone DL. Arsenic and DMSO thresholds.. Workshop on Testing for Therapeutic Medications, Environmental and Dietary Substances in Racing Horses 1995:63-69.
  14. Larsen EH, Stürup S. Carbon-enhanced inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometric detection of arsenic and selenium and its application to arsenic speciation.. J Anal at Spectrom 1994;9(10):1099-1105.
  15. Cootes TF, Taylor CJ. A mixture model for representing shape variation.. Image Vision Comput 1999;17(8):567-573.
  16. Lindsay BG. Mixture Models: Theory, Geometry and Applications.. NSF-CBMS Regional Conference Series in Probability and Statistics Vol 5: Institute of Mathematical Statistics; 1995:i-163.
  17. Press WH, Teukolsky SA, Vetterling WT, Flannery BP. Classification and Inference.. Numerical recipes: the art of scientific computing 3rd ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press; 2007:840-898.
  18. Das D, Chatterjee A, Mandal BK, Samanta G, Chakraborti D, Chanda B. Arsenic in ground water in six districts of West Bengal, India: the biggest arsenic calamity in the world. Part 2. Arsenic concentration in drinking water, hair, nails, urine, skin-scale and liver tissue (biopsy) of the affected people.. Analyst 1995;120(3):917-924.
  19. Abernathy C. Exposure and health effects.. UN Synthesis Report on Arsenic in Drinking Water 2001.
  20. Mandal P. An insight of environmental contamination of arsenic on animal health.. Emerging Contaminants 2017;3(1):17-22.
  21. Bae H-S, Ryu D-Y, Choi B-S, Park J-D. Urinary arsenic concentrations and their associated factors in Korean adults.. Toxicol Res 2013;29(2):137-142.

Citations

This article has been cited 0 times.
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,850 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.