Identification of metabolites of trenbolone acetate in androgenic runoff from a beef feedlot

Little is known concerning the potential ecological effects of hormonally active substances associated with discharges from animal feeding operations. Trenbolone acetate is a synthetic anabolic steroid that is widely used in the United States to promote growth of beef cattle. Metabolites of trenbolone acetate include the stereoisomers 17 alpha- and 17 beta-trenbolone, both of which are stable in animal wastes and are relatively potent androgens in fish and mammals. Our purpose in this study was to evaluate the occurrence of 17 alpha- and 17 beta-trenbolone in a beef cattle feedlot discharge and in river water upstream and downstream from the discharge. In conjunction with that effort, we measured in vitro androgenic activity of the discharge using CV-1 cells that had been transiently cotransfected with human androgen receptor and reporter gene constructs. Samples were collected on nine different occasions during 2002 and 2003. Whole-water samples from the discharge caused a significant androgenic response in the CV-1 cells and contained detectable concentrations of 17 alpha- and 17 beta-trenbolone. Further work is needed to ascertain the degree to which synthetic androgens such as trenbolone contribute to androgenic activity of feedlot discharges.