Clenbuterol

Clenbuterol is banned for athletes but regular cases of sport stars testing positive for this drug amongst others are a regular occurrence. Alberto Contador was stripped of his 2010 Tour De France victory because of the presence of Clenbuterol in his blood and he faced a further two-year ban.  Baseball stars, American footballers, they’ve all been caught taking this drug.

Why would it be taken anyway? It is used to build muscle – rapidly, and to strip fat which contributes to a lean muscled look essential for body builders by improving the muscle-to-fat ratio. It is used to treat horses and increase lean meat bulk in cattle. That makes it an important commercial drug for those flouting the law because it is a banned substance.  So, there is still the possibility it enters the supply chain as a veterinary residue in human food, and so causes a number of issues for those where it’s presence is likely to be anathema such as a sportsperson. Alberto Contador claimed following his positive tests that he had eaten contaminated meat containing this drug.

Clenbuterol causes heart palpitations, tremors, dizziness, nausea and anxiety in people who have taken it and the symptoms last from two to six days. It is a β2 sympathomimetic or beta-adrenergic agent..

Clenbuterol has been banned since 2000 by the European Union but it is still used illicitly within the beef producing industry. It is banned by the IOC and the United States’ Food & Drug Amnistration (FDA) has banned its used in any animal destined for the human food chain. It is however a a drug for treating asthma and is approved in Bulgaria, Russia and China.

In 2010, some 34 Canary Islanders were arrested as part of a trafficking ring connected to the distribution of clenbuterol to farmers in the livestock industry. The particular drug, Spasmbronchal that was identified is a form of clenbuterol that was being administered to increase cattle or horse body mass before they were slaughtered and then sold on for human consumption.

The alert came when authorities caught someone injecting clenbuterol into a horse before a race at Vallesco on Spain’s Gran canaria during the fiesta of San Vicente Ferrer. The drug helps to clear bronchial tubes in horses before races so that they breathe more easily. The horse collapsed during the race.

Clenbuterol is detected in human urine using gas chromatography coupled to mass spectroscopy (GC-MS), or  capillary electrophoresis immunoassay with chemiluminescence detection (Ji et al., 2006).

Ji, X., He, Z., Ai, X., Yang, H., & Xu, C. (2006). Determination of clenbuterol by capillary electrophoresis immunoassay with chemiluminescence detection. Talanta, 70(2), pp. 353-357.