Thermal stability of antiparasitic macrocyclic lactones milk residues during industrial processing

The chemical stability of residues of different antiparasitic macrocyclic lactone compounds in milk subjected to thermal treatment was assessed. Concentrations of ivermectin (IVM), moxidectin (MXD) and eprinomectin (EPM) in sheep milk, equivalent to those measured in vivo in milk excretion studies, were subjected to 65C over 30 min or to 75C for 15 s. Residue concentrations of IVM, MXD and EPM in milk were measured by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (fluorescence detection) before and after heat treatment of the drug-fortified milk samples. No evidence of chemical loss was obtained in either of the thermal treatments under evaluation. The stability of the parent compounds in milk was evidenced by the lack of bioconversion products (metabolites) after both thermal treatments. Only very minor changes on drug concentrations were observed at the end of the treatments, which fell within the limits of the variation of the validated analytical method. In conclusion, residue concentrations of macrocyclic lactones are unaffected by industrial-simulated milk thermal procedures. Based on the reported findings, it can be postulated that residue concentrations of IVM, MXD and EPM measured in raw sheep milk may be used to estimate consumer exposure and dietary intake for these veterinary drugs.