Combined tetracycline and pyrethroid residues increases protein carbonylation in bovine milk

• Published in: International dairy journal 2020-08, Vol.107, p.104708, Article 104708
• Main Authors: Marrugo-Padilla, Albeiro, Méndez-Cuadro, Darío, Rodríguez-Cavallo, Erika
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0958-6946; 1879-0143
• DOI: 10.1016/j.idairyj.2020.104708

Tetracycline and pyrethroid residues can reach food of animal origin such as milk due to their multiple uses in modern systems of intensive breeding. Thus, regulatory entities established the maximum residue limit (MRL) for these contaminants to guarantee food safety. Despite that, impact derived from simultaneous presence (cocktail effect) of tetracycline and pyrethroid residues on food proteins is unknown. This study evaluated oxidative damage promoted on caseins and whey proteins by the binary mixture of four tetracyclines with three pyrethroids at respective maximum residue limit values using proteomic techniques. Casein and whey proteins exhibited significant solubility loss and suffered irreversible oxidative damage relative to control samples in eleven of twelve binary combinations of tetracyclines and pyrethroids assayed. Based on the magnitude of solubility loss and carbonylation induced by tetracycline and pyrethroid mixtures on milk proteins, new concerns are opened around the real innocuity of MRL for these substances.