Determination and Investigation the Nitrofurazone’s Metabolite Semicarbazide in Macrobrachium Nipponese Prawns

Semicarbazide (SEM) is the metabolite of the illegal veterinary nitrofurazone (NFZ) in aquatic animal. However there are increasing occurrences that SEM has been found in Macrobrachium Nipponese (M. Nipponese) prawns during the routine quality controls testing for aquatic food in China since 2008. To ascertain the presence and source of SEM, prawn samples were collected from different resources (i.e., aquatic product markets, natural waters, aquaculture farms) for qualitation and quantitation, and we incubated M. Nipponese larvae in the laboratory under control for observing the SEM. SEM was detected out in all the samples analyzed, including the wild-caught samples, and it presents a regular content relationship among three parts of prawns (i.e., the shell > head > muscle). This relationship was unrelated to sample resources. In addition, a natural increase of SEM was observed after the larvae metamorphosing into postlarvae. These findings in M. Nipponense prawns can provid new evidences for further confirmation and research of the natural occurrence of SEM.