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Influence of Solvents on Steroid Extraction from Animal Feces and Quantification Using Enzyme Immunoassay
Author(s) -
Wang Yihua,
Hu Xiaolong,
Liu Gang,
Hu Defu,
Liu Dongping
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
wildlife society bulletin
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2328-5540
DOI - 10.1002/wsb.1124
Subject(s) - feces , immunoassay , chromatography , chemistry , extraction (chemistry) , steroid , ethanol , solvent , urine , methanol , testosterone (patch) , zoology , biology , biochemistry , endocrinology , hormone , organic chemistry , ecology , antibody , immunology
Organic solvents, such as methanol (MeOH) and ethanol (EtOH), are commonly used to extract and preserve steroids from animal excreta (feces, urine). As a result, the target substances are often in the solvent when they are subsequently analyzed using enzyme immunoassay (EIA). We examined steroid extraction from the feces of forest musk deer ( Moschus berezovskii ; collected in Sichuan Province, China, during 2017) using different concentrations of MeOH or EtOH (60%, 80%, 90%, or 100%). We also tested the effects of EtOH solvent on the accuracy of the EIA used to determine steroid concentration. Our results show that 100% MeOH and 90% EtOH resulted in the extraction of greater cortisol content from the feces of female forest musk deer compared with 90% MeOH and 100% EtOH ( P < 0.05). Greater estradiol content was extracted with 100% and 90% EtOH compared with other EtOH concentrations or MeOH. The largest testosterone amount was extracted using 90% EtOH. In our evaluation of the effects of EtOH concentration on the accuracy of the EIA test, we found that inaccurate results appeared when the sample EtOH concentration was >7%. © 2020 The Wildlife Society.