Abstract
Food safety crises involving persistent organic pollutants (POPs) lead to systematic slaughter of livestock to prevent contaminants from entering the food chain. Therefore, there is a need to develop strategies to depurate livestock moderately contaminated with POPs to reduce economic and social damage. This study aimed to test undernutrition (37% of energy requirements) combined with mineral oil (10% in total dry matter intake) in nine non-lactating ewes contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) 126 and 153 as a strategy to enhance the depuration of POPs through faecal excretion. To better understand the underlying mechanisms of the depuration process, lipophilic POPs and lipid fluxes were co-monitored in various body and excretion compartments. Body compartments (adipose tissues, muscle, liver and blood) and the total empty body were analyzed for lipids and POPs concentrations and burdens at slaughter, as well as excretion compartments (faeces and wool) collected during the depuration period. Decreases in empty body total and lipid weights were 6-fold higher in underfed and supplemented ewes compared to control ewes. In addition, over the depuration period undernutrition and supplementation treatment increased faecal TCDD, PCBs 126 and 153 excretions by 1.4- to 2.1-fold but tended to decrease wool PCB 153 excretion by 1.4-fold. This induced 2- to 3-fold higher decreases in the empty body POPs burdens for underfed and supplemented ewes. Nonetheless, when expressed relative to the calculated initial empty body burdens, burdens at slaughter decreased only slightly from 97%, 103% and 98% for control ewes to 92%, 97% and 94% for underfed and supplemented ones, for TCDD, PCBs 126 and 153, respectively. Fine descriptions at once of POPs kinetic (companion paper 1) and mass balance (companion paper 2), and of body lipid dynamics were very useful in improving our understanding of the fate of POPs in the ruminants.
Highlights
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemical molecules that are toxic for wildlife and humans
Over the 57 days of the depuration period, decreases in body weight (BW), empty body total and lipid weights, and body condition score were on average 6-fold higher (P < 0.01) for underfed and mineral oil supplemented treatment (UFMO) compared to control well-fed and non-supplemented treatment (CTL) treatment
The adipocyte diameter remained unaffected by treatment at the end of the depuration period whatever the AT, even if decrease over the depuration period in pericaudal subcutaneous adipocyte diameter was significant for UFMO ewes (-12 μm, P < 0.05; Table 1)
Summary
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) are chemical molecules that are toxic for wildlife and humans. Due to their lipophilic nature, the fate of POPs in animal organism is thought to be linked to the dynamics of body lipids Based on this assumption, the aim of the present study is to assess the effectiveness of undernutrition (inducing the mobilization of body fat reserves) combined with mineral oil (MO) supplementation (allowing increased faecal lipid excretion) as a strategy to decontaminate ewes from stored 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) 126 and 153. The aim of the present study is to assess the effectiveness of undernutrition (inducing the mobilization of body fat reserves) combined with mineral oil (MO) supplementation (allowing increased faecal lipid excretion) as a strategy to decontaminate ewes from stored 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD), and polychlorobiphenyls (PCBs) 126 and 153 These three molecules were chosen as representatives of highly persistent POPs characterized by poor metabolization and a low depuration rate in the milk and meat of ruminants among the dioxins (TCDD), dioxin-like PCBs (PCB 126) and non dioxin-like PCBs (PCB 153) [3,4,5]
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