Oxytetracycline (OTC) accumulation and elimination in hemolymph, muscle and hepatopancreas of white shrimp Litopenaeus vannamei following an OTC-feed therapeutic treatment

The white shrimp, Litopenaeus vannamei, has become a very important species for the development of shrimp aquaculture in Northwest Mexico. However, viral and bacterial diseases are considered a major threat to the development of this industry. In the present study a trial was conducted to evaluate the tissue distribution, maximum concentration, and elimination of the widely used antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC) in L. vannamei using indoor tanks under laboratory-controlled conditions. OTC was given to shrimp simulating a therapeutic treatment through medicated feed for 14 days followed by a period of feeding without antibiotic for another 14 days to evaluate the elimination pattern. Samples of hemolymph, muscle, and hepatopancreas were taken from medicated animals every two days for 28 days. All tissues were removed and frozen immediately in liquid nitrogen. OTC levels were analyzed by High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). Results showed an important OTC increase during consumption of medicated feed in all examined tissues. OTC maximum concentrations were 33.54 ± 11.19, 194.37 ± 16.11, and 18.79 ± 5.87 µg g^− 1 for muscle, hepatopancreas and hemolymph, respectively. Although the highest OTC level was found in the hepatopancreas, it required only two days after the start of dosing to reach this value, whereas the maximum OTC for muscle and hemolymph was detected after eight days of dosing. Ten days after the cessation of medicated feeding, the drug content in the shrimp tail muscle was under the detectable limit for the method (0.01 µg g^− 1 of OTC).