ANALYSIS OF OXONIC ACID, URIC-ACID, CREATINE, ALLANTOIN, XANTHINE AND HYPOXANTHINE IN POULTRY LITTER BY REVERSE-PHASE HPLC

A separation method has been developed to extract organic compounds from poultry manure and litter and subsequently analyze these extracts using reverse phase high-pressure liquid chromatography. Specifically, the method may be used to quantify oxonic acid, allantoin, creatine, uric acid, xanthine and hypoxanthine in poultry manure samples. In a representative sample of fresh poultry manure, oxonic acid, allantoin, creatine, uric acid and xanthine were present at concentrations of 2.4, 2.7, 3.9, 270 and 0.8 mg/g dry manure, respectively. Litter samples stored for eight or sixteen weeks showed the presence of hypoxanthine but no longer contained detectable quantities of creatine. Allantoic acid and urea, both previously shown to be present in the litter samples, could not be distinguished by the chromatographic technique. Orotic acid and uracil, although capable of being separated by the method, were not detected in any poultry litter samples.