Antibiotic Residues in Poultry Eggs Sold in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria

Background and Objective: The use of antibiotics usually in poultry feeds has been adopted in virtually all poultry farms mostly for medications and as growth enhancers for poultry. Continuous use of these antibiotics over time may leave deposits of antibiotics which may become resident in the body tissues of these birds in the form of antibiotic residues. Consuming poultry of this kind or their eggs may pose certain health challenges to consumers. This study is aimed at investigating the number of antibiotic residues that may be present in poultry eggs sold in Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria. Materials and Methods: A total of nine egg samples were collected and worked upon. Three samples imported from Jos (Plateau), three samples imported from Enugu and three samples obtained from Wukari (Taraba), were worked on in triplicates. They were boiled for about 10 min, pieced, air-dried, milled and properly packaged for laboratory analysis. The following antibiotics were assayed for Tetracycline, chlortetracycline, oxytetracycline and colistin using High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results: The results obtained in this study revealed chlortetracycline to be the most abundant in the egg samples. In the order of egg samples imported from Jos, Enugu and those bred in Wukari, results for antibiotic levels present in the obtained egg samples are as follows: Was the highest and none even close of all the four tested (13.17, 9.92, 11.30) μg/100g, Tetracycline: (3.63, 2.72, 3.11) μg/100g, Oxytetracycline: (5.36, 4.02, 4.58) μg/100g, colistin: (2.80, 4.15, 1.62) μg/100g. The results were arranged in order of the eggs imported from Jos (Plateau), eggs collected from Wukari (Taraba) and eggs imported from Enugu, respectively. Conclusion: The possible reason for the presence of antibiotic residues in poultry products may be because of failure to observe drug withdrawal periods by poultry farmers or the ignorance of the consumers on the adverse effect and toxicity of antibiotic residues in human health such as allergic reactions among others.