Pharmacology and toxicology of phenethanolamines as nutrient repartitioning agents in food animals (what you need to know about Beta- agonist repartitioning agents)
2002
Landicho, E.F. (Philippines Univ. Los Banos, College, Laguna (Philippines). Coll. of Veterinary Medicine)
Phenethanolamines or beta-adrenergic agonists, such as clenbuterol and ractopamine, are known nutrient repartitioning agents used in livestock. When used as feed additive, repartitioning agents act by reducing accumulation of fat and at the same time promote development of muscle (lean) at the stage when growth rate has reached a plateau. Thus, meats from so-treated animals have more lean and less fat. Nutrient repartitioning with agents like phenethanolamines, is one of the livestock industry's response to public demand for healthier more-lean-less-fat meat. Not all phenethanolamines are equally safe to meat consumers. Clenbuterol, for one, has been shown to have rather long elimination time from the animal body and thus, cause unsafe drug residues in meat and meat products. For this reason, clenbuterol and certain other related products have been banned for use as repartitioning agent in many parts of the world. Several cases of poisoning with clenbuterol residues resulting from illegal use of clenbuterol in livestock have been reported. Of all the phenethanolamines, ractopamine is deemed safe for use as a repartitioning agent, and is never used for therapeutic purposes in both human and animal patients. It is approved for performance enhancement in finishing pigs in several countries including the Philippines. The rampant practice of using illegal repartitioning agents endangers public health. There is therefore an urgent need for the government to monitor and regulate the importation and use of clenbuterol in livestock.
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