Detecting diclofenac in livestock carcasses in India with an ELISA: A tool to prevent widespread vulture poisoning

Mohini Saini, Mark A. Taggart, Dietmar Knopp, Suchitra Upreti, Devendra Swarup, Asit Das, Praveen K. Gupta, Reinhard Niessner, Vibhu Prakash, Rafael Mateo, Richard J. Cuthbert

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

31 Scopus citations

Abstract

Diclofenac, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID), has caused catastrophic vulture declines across the Indian sub-continent. Here, an indirect ELISA is used to detect and quantify diclofenac in 1251 liver samples from livestock carcasses collected across India between August 2007 and June 2008, one to two years after a ban on diclofenac manufacture and distribution for veterinary use was implemented. The ELISAs applicability was authenticated with independent data obtained using LC-ESI/MS. Of 1251 samples, 1150 (91.9%) were negative for diclofenac using both methods, and 60 (4.8%) were positive at 10-4348 and 10-4441 μg kg -1 when analysed by ELISA and LC-ESI/MS, respectively. The residue level relationship in the 60 positive samples was highly significant (p < 0.001, r 2 = 0.644). Data suggest that this immunological assay could be used not only for cost effective sample screening, but also for residue level semi-quantification.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)11-16
Number of pages6
JournalEnvironmental Pollution
Volume160
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2012

Keywords

  • Diclofenac analysis
  • Diclofenac poisoning
  • Indirect competitive ELISA
  • Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
  • Vulture conservation

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