Oxytetracycline depletion and withdrawal time estimation following intraperitoneal administration in three species from Chilean salmon farming

This study was conducted to evaluate the half‐time (T½) and withdrawal time (WT) of oxytetracycline (OTC) following intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of OTC (24.8–34.7 mg/kg) in three farmed salmonid species, Coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch), Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mikiss) and Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar). A detection technique in fish skin muscle through a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with a diode array detector (DAD) was developed and validated. The depletion studies were carried out in controlled conditions (nine studies) and under field conditions (one study). The T½ and WT estimations from the skin muscle after the i.p. administration of OTC in salmonids appear to be longer than studies where the OTC was orally administrated. Furthermore, the OTC maximum concentration in muscle seems to be also higher in the i.p. treatment. Due to the prolonged WT following the i.p. OTC administration, cautions related to the salmon harvest time should be consider in order to prevent OTC traces in the final product.