Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug metabolism studies in horses in view of doping control: analytical strategies and challenges

Abstract

Continuous research on metabolomics is of utmost importance in the field of anti-doping control, including updating the selection of the most appropriate markers of prohibited substances, test specimens and analytical strategies. Among metabolomics research topics, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used in equine medicine and have a large diversity in their chemical structures; hence, their metabolism has been widely elucidated to construct appropriate anti-doping tests. This article provides an overview of the analytical methodologies used in anti-doping analysis and the metabolic research of NSAIDs concerning issues related to the use of alternative test matrices, sample preparation strategies and possible analytical techniques. In addition, the metabolic pathways of chosen NSAIDs in horses, associated analytical problems and future research directions are discussed.