Determination of ptaquiloside in cow's milk by HPLC-UV

• Published in: Semina. Ciências agrárias : revista cultural e científica da Universidade Estadual de Londrina Vol. 40; no. 4; p. 1715
• Main Authors: Ribeiro, Debora da Silva Freitas, Keller, Kelly Moura, Melo, Marília Martins, Soto-Blanco, Benito
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: 01.07.2019
• ISSN: 1676-546X; 1679-0359
• DOI: 10.5433/1679-0359.2019v40n4p1715

Ferns of the genus Pteridium are known to be responsible for cases of poisoning in cattle. The commonly found species of Pteridium in Brazil are P. arachnoideum and P. caudatum. The toxic principle of these ferns is ptaquiloside, a norsesquiterpene glucoside, which is a known carcinogen. Ptaquiloside can be secreted in the milk of cows grazing on bracken ferns, thereby posing a potential health risk for the milk consumers. The objective of the present study was to develop an analytical methodology using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with ultraviolet (UV) detection to determine the concentrations of ptaquiloside in cow´s milk. HPLC-UV method, based on the conversion of ptaquiloside into pterosin B and its subsequent extraction using dichloromethane, was successfully developed for estimating concentrations of ptaquiloside in milk samples. However, the presence of ptaquiloside was not detected in milk samples obtained from cows with a history of bovine enzootic hematuria resulting from grazing on P. arachnoideum infested pastures in Brazil.