Presence of salicylic acid in standardbred horse urine and plasma after various feed and drug administrations

Synovial distribution of "systemically" administered acetylsalicylic acid in the isolated perfused equine distal limb

Background

This study investigated synovial concentrations of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and its metabolite salicylic acid (SA) in the equine fetlock joint following systemic administration of ASA. Salicylates were chosen because SA is the only nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug for which threshold levels exist for plasma and urine in equine sports. To avoid animal experiments, the study was conducted using an ex vivo model of the isolated perfused equine distal limb in combination with plasma concentrations obtained from literature.

Salicylate concentrations in the joint were determined using microdialysis and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Any anti-inflammatory effect of synovial ASA concentrations was assessed using an ASA EC₅₀ (half maximal effective concentration) determined in equine whole blood.

Results

The ASA concentration in the synovial fluid (n = 6) reached a maximum of 4 μg/mL, the mean concentration over the entire perfusion period was 2 μg/mL. Maximum SA concentration was 17 μg/mL, the average was 14 μg/mL. ASA and SA concentration in the synovial fluid exceeded systemic concentrations 2 h and 3.5 h after “systemic” administration, respectively.

Conclusions

ASA and SA accumulated in the in the synovial fluid of the ex vivo model despite decreasing systemic concentrations. This suggests a prolonged anti-inflammatory effect within the joint that remains to be further elucidated.

Some aspects of doping and medication control in equine sports

This chapter reviews drug and medication control in equestrian sports and addresses the rules of racing, the technological advances that have been made in drug detection and the importance of metabolism studies in the development of effective drug surveillance programmes. Typical approaches to screening and confirmatory analysis are discussed, as are the quality processes that underpin these procedures. The chapter also addresses four specific topics relevant to equestrian sports: substances controlled by threshold values, the approach adopted recently by European racing authorities to control some therapeutic substances, anabolic steroids in the horse and LC-MS analysis in drug testing in animal sports and metabolism studies. The purpose of discussing these specific topics is to emphasise the importance of research and development and collaboration to further global harmonisation and the development and support of international rules.