Determination of 19-nortestosterone in finnish boar plasma and urine samples

Abstract Urine and plasma samples of non-castrated, cryptorchid and castrated boars were analysed in order to establish the endogenous concentration of 19-nortestosterone. A combination of three different analytical techniques was used in this work. ELISA and gas chromatography were used for quantitation and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry for confirmation of positive samples. The results obtained confirm the endogenous origin of 19-nortestosterone in boars and give a natural range of concentration of about 1–300 ng ml −1 for urine and 1–15 ng ml −1 for plasma samples.