Flunixin meglumine tissue residues after intravenous administration in goats

Background: Flunixin is commonly used in goats in an extra-label manner, indicating a significant need to determine withdrawal intervals for edible tissues.

Objective: The objectives of the present study were to investigate the depletion of flunixin meglumine in various goat tissues, including the liver, kidney, fat, and muscle.

Methods: Twenty Boer goats were enrolled and administered an intravenous dose (2.2 mg/kg) of flunixin meglumine. Five animals were randomly euthanized at 24, 48, 72, or 96 h following dosing. All samples were analyzed via ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry.

Results: The concentration of flunixin in all tissues declined rapidly, with the highest mean concentrations quantified in the kidney (0.137 ± 0.062 μg/g) and liver (0.077 ± 0.029 μg/g) tissues at 24 h.

Conclusion: Since any detection of flunixin residues at slaughter found in goat tissues is considered a violative residue, a conservative withdrawal interval of 17 days was calculated to ensure levels of flunixin fell below the regulatory limits of detection in liver, kidney, and muscle tissues.