Investigation of possible heavy metals and antibiotic residues in comercial collagens

There is a risk of heavy metal and/or antibiotic residues in commercially available packaged collagen. This is because collagens are generally derived from farm animals and sea creatures, and today we have reached critical stages in environmental pollution. There are no information notes such as "heavy metal free" or "antibiotic free" on the collagen products offered for sale in the market. Therefore, the current study aimed to determine whether collagens as a support and nutrient substance were within physiologically safe limits and to ensure their safer use. For this purpose, 10 of the 25 most popular collagen from fish and farm animals (CF) sold on the internet were randomly selected and purchased from a pharmacy in Burdur city centerand necessary analyzes were carried out under laboratory conditions. The purchased products were stored at -5oC until they were analyzed. The zinc, lead, cadmium, mercury and arsenic levels in these commercial products were then analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICPOES). Streptomycin, sulfonamide, tetracycline and chloramphenicol levels in the samples were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) method. All analyses were carried out in the laboratory of Burdur Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, Scientific and Technology Application and Research Center. No lead, mercury and arsenic residues were found in any of the tested samples. The mean cadmium levels in fish and CF collagen samples were not significant between the groups (P=0.2548). The lowest cadmium level in fish collagen samples was 0.152 mg/kg and the highest cadmium level was 0.288 mg/kg (mean 0.2495±0.0393). Cadmium levels detected in CF collagen samples ranged from 0.183 mg/kg to 2.78 mg/kg (mean 0.2311±0.0301). The mean zinc levels in fish and CF collagen were not found significant (P=0.2644). The lowest zinc level in fish collagen was 1.368 mg/kg and the highest was 2673 mg/kg (553.89 ± 498.53). The lowest and highest zinc levels in CF collagen were 1.750 mg/kg and 1528 mg/kg, respectively (155.92±148.49). According to the current results, no streptomycin, sulfonamide and tetracycline residues were found in any of the collagen samples evaluated. Chloramphenicol was only observed in two fish collagen samples, but these values were below the lower limit of normal detection. The results of the current study indicated that the risk of heavy metal and antibiotic residues in commercial collagen sold in our country is low.