Overcoming RNA inhibition in the fluorescent polymerase chain reaction assay to enhance detection of bovine DNA in cattle feeds.

The practice of incorporating mammalian protein in ruminant feeds was banned in the United States in 1997 as a measure to avoid transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). A sensitive means of identifying the banned additives in feeds would be by detection of species-specific DNA using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). However, problems may arise in the PCR due to the presence of inhibitory substances.