Influence of cadmium on PCB congener accumulation in quail.

Abstract

Technological development this century has led to an environmental input of synthetic chemical compounds totally extraneous to natural ecosystems such as Polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs), extensively used in agriculture and industry. These xenobiotics have a high fat/water repartition coefficient, making them easily accumulated by living organisms. Their persistence and low degradability means that they are now present throughout the global ecosystem. Ubiquitous environmental contaminants also include heavy metals like Hg, As, Pb, Cd and Cr, of which Cd, an element causing functional damage to the kidney and liver in which it preferentially accumulates, is of special ecotoxicological importance. The WHO has defined an accumulation of 60 mg/kg (fresh weight), beyond which damage occurs. Cd occurs [open quotes]naturally[close quotes] in high concentrations in certain animal species including molluscs. Birds and marine mammals feeding largely on cephalopods show high levels of this metal. Many monitoring studies have also revealed high concentrations of PCBs in the same animals. The vast majority of studies on contaminants in experimental animals consider the short-, medium- and long-term effects of a single pollutant. However, the presence of synergisms and antagonisms between compounds makes it necessary to adopt a more holistic approach to the problem of environmental pollution. In ordermore » to understand if the effect of xenobiotic compounds like PCBs may be potentiated by the natural presence of cadmium in bird population, we sought preliminary information on how the presence of cadmium in the diet may influence the accumulation and metabolization of PCB congeners. The influence of Cd on PCB accumulation was investigated in Japanese quail treated experimentally with Cd and PCBs. Particular attention was paid to final congener accumulation and qualitative differences in congener composition between controls and treated birds. 15 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.« less