HILIC‐MS/MS Detection of Meldonium in Meat from Emidonol‐Treated Calves and Volunteer Urine After Consumption: An Anti‐Doping Perspective

ABSTRACT

A pilot study was conducted to detect meldonium in raw meat samples from young calves slaughtered 15 and 30 days ( n  = 3 per time‐point) after a 15‐day course of Emidonol. Meldonium concentration was also assessed in meat samples after cooking before consumption, as well as in urine samples from volunteers after consuming a single 350 g portion of cooked meat. Urine was collected over 48 h. The maximum mean estimated meldonium concentrations in raw meat samples were 5250 ng/g on the 15th day after drug treatment and 3110 ng/g on the 30th day after drug treatment. The mean estimated meldonium concentrations in medium‐rare steak cooked for 10 min (15 days after the course) and baked meat were 2960 and 1970 ng/g, respectively; for the “30‐day” samples, these values were 1380 and 760 ng/g. The mean maximum estimated urine meldonium concentrations, which peaked at 2–5 h post‐consumption, were 386 and 344 ng/mL for the “15‐day” meat, and 258 and 219 ng/mL for the “30‐day” meat, respectively. Thus, after eating meat samples contaminated with Emidonol, meldonium can be detected in urine 24–28 h post‐consumption; during the first 2–14 h, its concentration can be even higher than the WADA MRPL level, which may result in an inadvertent adverse analytical finding for meldonium in sports drug testing.