Development and validation of a high-performance liquid chromatography method for determination of ractopamine residue in pork samples by solid phase extraction and pre-column derivatization

•A sensitive HPLC method for the determination of RAC in pork samples with low CCβ•Extraction of ractopamine residue by liquid/liquid extraction, SPE and derivatization•Separation of ractopamine derivative with TFA as an ion-pairing reagent

Ractopamine (RAC) has been approved as a feed additive for swine, cattle or turkey, and is likely to have residue in edible animal products and may pose a potential risk for consumer health. Therefore, it is essential to establish a method to detect the residue of RAC in animal products. This work presents a rapid and sensitive HPLC method for the determination of RAC in pork samples with pre-column derivatization. The RAC derivative was separated on a kromasil C18 column and detected at 284 nm with a UV detector. The detection capability (CCβ) was 0.078 μg g− 1 and the linearity was established over the concentration range of 0.15-100.0 μg g− 1. The overall mean recovery in spike range of 0.2 μg g− 1 to 100 μg g− 1 was 89.9% with the overall mean relative standard deviation of 4.1%. This method can be used for the quantification of RAC in pork samples and help to establish adequate monitoring of the residue of RAC.