A pilot evaluation on the toxicokinetics and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated naphthalenes in laying hens

Abstract

Knowledge of the transfer features of polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs), a class of emerging persistent organic pollutants (POPs), is still lacking concerning the environment-feed-food transfer chain of farm animals. We conducted a controlled feeding experiment with laying hens fed fly ash-contaminated diets to investigate the toxicokinetics and bioaccumulation of PCNs (tri- to octa-CNs) in the hen eggs and tissues. The eggs showed increasing PCNs levels after 14 days of oral exposure, which gradually decreased during the 28-day depuration period but still exceeded the initial levels. The apparent one-compartment half-life of ∑63PCNs in the eggs was 28.9 days, which was comparable to those of other dioxin-like compounds. The uptake and depuration rates of PCN congeners in the eggs were 0.002–0.010 and 0.016–0.079 days−1 in eggs, respectively. The depuration rates were decreased with the n-octanol/water partition coefficients (logKOW), indicating that the eggs retained more lipophilic congeners, whereas the uptake rates increased with the logKOW, indicating the faster deposition of the more lipophilic PCNs in eggs during the exposure period. The transfer rates of PCN congeners ranged from 0.27%–23.0%, indicating the transfer potential of PCNs from feed to eggs. Additionally, the PCN distribution in the laying hens at the end of the exposure showed tissue-specific accumulation, with the high levels of PCNs in the liver, spleen, and ovum. Positive correlations between the transfer factors (Ctissue/Cfeed) and the logKOW suggested that more lipophilic PCN congeners tended to accumulate in the tissues. After quantitatively assessing the feed-to-food transfer of PCNs in laying hens, our results highlight the risk of exposure to PCNs in the food supply chain.