Investigation of the salbutamol residue level in human urinary samples by a sensitive direct competitive ELISA

Salbutamol (SAL) is used to promote animal growth, because it increases feeding efficiency and carcass lean percentage. SAL has been banned in many countries because of the potential hazard to human health. To investigate the SAL residue level in humans, a sensitive direct competitive ELISA was developed. Under the optimal experimental conditions, the limit of detection (LOD) for the assay was 0.01 ng mL −1 , and the standard curve was constructed at concentrations of 0.01-100 ng mL −1 . We used the developed assay to detect the urinary concentration of SAL in 1648 participants. SAL was detected in 96% of participants with a concentration ranging from the LOD to 30.83 ng mL −1 . Pregnant women were found to have a lower SAL concentration than non-pregnant women. Sources of exposure, risk assessment and measures for reducing the exposure level require further investigation. A sensitive direct competitive ELISA was developed to assess the exposure of humans to salbutamol.