Uptake, metabolism and discharge of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons by marine fish

✍ Scribed by R. F. Lee; R. Sauerheber; G. H. Dobbs

• Publisher: Springer-Verlag
• Year: 1972
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 773 KB
• Volume: 17
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0025-3162
• DOI: 10.1007/bf00366294

✦ Synopsis

The uptake, metabolism and discharge of two polyeyelie aromatic hydrocarbons, 14C-naphthalene and 3H-3,4-benzopyrene, were studied in 3 species of marine fish (mudsucker or sand goby, Giltlchthys mirabilis; sculpin, Oligocottus maculosus; sand dab, Citharichthys stigmaeus). The path of hydrocarbons through the fish included entrance through the gills, metabolism by the liver, transfer of hydrocarbons and their metabolRes to the bile, and, finally, excretion. The gall bladder was a major storage site of labeled hydrocarbons and their metabolites. The major product of aH-3,4-benzopyrene metabolism was tentatively identified as 7,8-dihydro-7,8dihydroxybenzopyrene. The 14C-naphthalene was metabolized to 1,2-dihydro-l,2-dihydroxynaphthalene after 24 h exposure. The urine appeared to be the major avenue for discharge of labeled hydrocarbon from the body. Our laboratory results indicated that certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were rapidly taken up from seawater by the above fish, but detoxification mechanisms existed for efficient removal of these compounds from their body tissues.