Roxarsone is an

organoarsenic compound Organoarsenic chemistry is the chemistry of compounds containing a chemical bond between arsenic and carbon. A few organoarsenic compounds, also called "organoarsenicals," are produced industrially with uses as insecticides, herbicides, and fun ...

that has been used in poultry production as a feed additive to increase weight gain and improve feed efficiency, and as a

coccidiostat A coccidiostat is an antiprotozoal agent that acts upon Coccidia parasites. Examples include: * Amprolium * Arprinocid * Artemether * Clazuril * Clopidol * Decoquinate * Diclazuril * Dinitolmide * Ethopabate * Halofuginone * Lasalocid * M ...

. As of June 2011, it was approved for chicken feed in the

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...

, and 12 other countries. The drug was also approved in the United States and elsewhere for use in

pigs The pig (''Sus domesticus''), often called swine, hog, or domestic pig when distinguishing from other members of the genus '' Sus'', is an omnivorous, domesticated, even-toed, hoofed mammal. It is variously considered a subspecies of ''Sus ...

. Its use in the United States was voluntarily ended by the manufacturers in June 2011 and has been illegal since 2013. Its use was immediately suspended in Malaysia. It was banned in Canada in August 2011. In Australia, its use in chicken feed was discontinued in 2012. Roxarsone has been banned in the European Union since 1999.

Production and applications

Roxarsone is a derivative of phenylarsonic acid (C₆H₅As(O)(OH)₂). It was first reported in a 1923 British patent that described the

nitration In organic chemistry, nitration is a general class of chemical processes for the introduction of a nitro group into an organic compound. The term also is applied incorrectly to the different process of forming nitrate esters between alcohols an ...

and

diazotization Diazonium compounds or diazonium salts are a group of organic compounds sharing a common functional group where R can be any organic group, such as an alkyl or an aryl, and X is an inorganic or organic anion, such as a halide. General propert ...

arsanilic acid Arsanilic acid, also known as aminophenyl arsenic acid or aminophenyl arsonic acid, is an organoarsenic compound, an amino derivative of phenylarsonic acid whose amine group is in the 4-position. A crystalline powder introduced medically in the l ...

. When blended with calcite powder, it is used in poultry feed premixes in some parts of the world. Where available, it can be purchased in 5%, 20% and 50% concentrations. Roxarsone was marketed as 3-Nitro by

Zoetis Zoetis Inc. (/zō-EH-tis/) is an American drug company, the world's largest producer of medicine and vaccinations for pets and livestock. The company was a subsidiary of Pfizer, the world's largest drug maker, but with Pfizer's spinoff of its ...

, a former subsidiary of

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now a publicly traded company. In 2006, approximately one million kilograms of roxarsone were produced in the U.S.

Marketing approval in the United States

Roxarsone is one of four

arsenical Arsenicals are chemical compounds that contain arsenic. In a military context, the term arsenical refer to toxic arsenic compounds that are used as chemical warfare agents. This include blister agents, blood agents and vomiting agents. Examples Bli ...

animal drugs that had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in poultry and swine, along with nitarsone,

, and

carbarsone Carbarsone is an organoarsenic compound used as an antiprotozoal drug for treatment of amebiasis and other infections. It was available for amebiasis in the United States as late as 1991. Thereafter, it remained available as a turkey feed additiv ...

. In September 2013, the FDA announced that

and

Fleming Laboratories Fleming may refer to: Places Australia *Fleming, Northern Territory, a town and a locality Canada * Fleming, Saskatchewan * Fleming Island (Saskatchewan) Egypt * Fleming (neighborhood), a neighborhood in Alexandria Greenland * Fleming Fjord ...

would voluntarily withdraw current roxarsone,

, and

approvals, leaving only nitarsone approvals in place. In 2015, the FDA withdrew the approval of using nitarsone in animal feeds. The ban came into effect at the end of 2015.

Controversy

Roxarsone has attracted attention as a source of

arsenic Arsenic is a chemical element with the symbol As and atomic number 33. Arsenic occurs in many minerals, usually in combination with sulfur and metals, but also as a pure elemental crystal. Arsenic is a metalloid. It has various allotropes, b ...

contamination of poultry and other foods. In June 2011, the manufacturers suspended sales of roxarsone in the U.S. and Canada in response to a study by the

Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a federal agency of the Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is responsible for protecting and promoting public health through the control and supervision of food ...

(FDA). The FDA found that roxarsone use was associated with elevated levels of inorganic arsenic in chicken livers. An FDA press release stated that the findings raised "concerns of a very low but completely avoidable exposure to a carcinogen." A 2013

market basket A market basket or commodity bundle is a fixed list of items, in given proportions. Its most common use is to track the progress of inflation in an economy or specific market. That is, to measure the changes in the value of money over time. A ...

study conducted in the United States linked the use of roxarsone and other arsenical feed additives to increased levels of inorganic arsenic in chicken breast meat, albeit at concentrations well below danger levels set in federal safety standards. Breast meat from chickens exposed to arsenical feed additives contained inorganic arsenic at the level of about two parts per billion. Organic chickens not exposed to arsenical feed additives contained about half a part per billion. Federal standards permitted concentrations of 500 parts per billion of total arsenic. The study was performed on chickens raised prior to the voluntary withdrawal of Roxarsone from the market by its manufacturer in June 2011.

References

External links

No Arsenic In Pardoned Turkeys, But It Might Be In Yours
at

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Hydroxy-3-nitrobenzenearsonic acid, 4- Arsonic acids Phenols Nitrobenzenes Antiprotozoal agents Veterinary drugs Food safety Medicated feed

Production and applications

Marketing approval in the United States

Controversy

References

Further reading

External links