A liquid chromatographic (LC) method was adapted and optimized for the determination of malachite green and its metabolites in fish plasma and muscle. Residues in plasma were extracted with acetonitrile, the extract was evaporated to dryness, and residues were resolubilized for LC analysis. Residues in muscle were extracted with an acetonitrile- acetate buffer mixture, reextracted with acetonitrile, and partitioned into methylene chloride with final cleanup on alumina and propylsulfonic acid solid-phase extraction columns. Residue levels were determined by using an LC cyano column with a Pb02 postcolumn and visible detection (618 nm). Overall mean recoveries of parent malachite green (MG-C) and its major metabolite, leucomalachite green (MG-L), from plasma were 93 and 87%, respectively, at fortification levels ranging from 25 to 250 ppb. Overall mean recoveries of MG-C and MG-L from muscle were 85 and 95%, respectively, at fortification levels ranging from 5 to 100 ppb. Relative standard deviations (RSDs) of recoveries at all fortification levels ranged from 3.9 to 7.0% for plasma and from 2.1 to 5.2% for muscle. The method was applied to incurred residues in tissues sampled from catfish after waterborne exposure to [14C]MG-C. Mean recoveries of total radioactive residues in plasma and muscle throughout the extraction and cleanup process were 88 and 87%, respectively, and corresponding RSDs for MG-C and MG-L were in the same range as those for fortified tissues. MG-L was confirmed as the major metabolite of MG-C in catfish.
