Dechlorane Plus flame retardant in a contaminated frog species: Biomagnification and isomer-specific transfer from females to their eggs

Abstract

While flame retardant Dechlorane Plus (DP) and its dechlorinated analogs have been frequently detected in wildlife, knowledge is limited on their bioaccumulation and maternal transfer in amphibians. In the present study, the occurrence of syn- and anti-DP isomers and a DP dechlorinated compound, anti-Cl11-DP, were investigated in frogs and insects collected from the paddy field of a highly contaminated site. The concentrations of ∑DP (the sum concentrations of syn- and anti-DP) in the frog muscle, liver, and eggs were 141 ± 24.7, 454 ± 73.9, and 184 ± 31.1 ng/g lipid weight, respectively; with significantly higher levels in the males than females. The syn-, anti- and anti-Cl11-DP were all detectable in the frog eggs, demonstrating their maternal transfer in female frogs. The concentration ratios between eggs and liver pairs were 0.49 ± 0.01, 0.35 ± 0.01, and 0.53 ± 0.06 for syn-DP, anti-DP, and anti-Cl11-DP, respectively. The values of fanti (the concentration of anti-DP relative to the sum concentration of DP) differed significantly between frog tissues (0.33–0.79) and insects (0.71–0.74), indicating isomer-specific bioaccumulation of DP in the frogs. The concentration ratios of the frogs to the insects were greater than 1 for all the DP-related compounds, suggesting a possibility of biomagnification of these chemicals in the frogs.