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Linear toxicokinetic of chlordecone in ewe’s serum

  • Environmental and human health issues related to long term contamination by chlordecone in the French West Indies
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Abstract

Chlordecone (CLD) is an organochlorine pesticide used in banana fields of the French West Indies between 1972 and 1993. This use resulted in a long-term pollution of soils and the possible contamination of farm animals. Indeed, after involuntary ingestion of soil, CLD is absorbed and consequently leads to contaminated animals. The aim of this study was the determination of CLD half-life and the establishment of the linearity of CLD disappearance kinetics in non-lactating adult’s ewes. Chlordecone diluted in cremophor was intravenously administrated to ewes at different doses: 0.04, 0.2, or 1 mg kg−1 body weight (n = 5 for each dose). Blood samples were collected from time t = 0 to time t = 84 days. Serum samples were extracted with a solid-phase extraction and analyzed by electron capture detection gas chromatography. A two-compartmental model was applied to the serum CLD kinetics. An additional statistical analysis was applied to the observed elimination parameters in serum according to the administrated dose, and no significant differences were detected. The linear elimination of CLD between 0.04 and 1 mg kg−1 body weight allowed the possibility of ewe’s extrapolation half-life in this dose range. The estimated mean CLD half-life in ewes was 24 days. Overall, the results of this study will be useful to establish decontamination strategies in small ruminants reared in contaminated CLD areas.

Experimental design of the CLD toxicokinetic study in ewes

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Claire Collas, Matthieu Delannoy, Frédéric Desor, Hervé Toussaint, Stefan Jurjanz, Marion Huguet, Claire Soligot, Julie Peiffer, Damien Banas, and Christine Grandclaudon (UR AFPA) for their contribution. We want to warmly thank Pamela Hartmeyer (UR AFPA) for her support during the experiment and Catherine Adam (CART) for the analysis.

Funding

The experimentation was funded by the CLD National Plan III, research program INSSICCA PITE and the MENESR (Ministère de l’Education Nationale, de l’Enseignement Supérieur et de la Recherche, France).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université de Lorraine, INRA, USC 340, UR AFPA, 2 Avenue de la Forêt de Haye, TSA 40602, 54518, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France

    Maïlie Saint-Hilaire, Guido Rychen, Yves Le Roux, Cyril Feidt & Agnès Fournier

  2. Université de Liège, LEAE-CART, Allée du 6 Août, 11, 4000, Liège, Belgium

    Jean-Pierre Thomé & Célia Joaquim-Justo

Authors
  1. Maïlie Saint-Hilaire
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  2. Guido Rychen
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  3. Jean-Pierre Thomé
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  4. Célia Joaquim-Justo
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  5. Yves Le Roux
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  6. Cyril Feidt
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  7. Agnès Fournier
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Correspondence to Agnès Fournier.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Highlights

• Chlordecone elimination rate is constant in serum between dose 0.04 and 1 mg kg-1 body weight

• The serum half-life of chlordecone is 24 ± 1 days in adult non-lactating ewe

• The obtained results will be useful to establish decontamination strategies in ewes

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Saint-Hilaire, M., Rychen, G., Thomé, JP. et al. Linear toxicokinetic of chlordecone in ewe’s serum. Environ Sci Pollut Res 27, 40963–40970 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05800-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-05800-z

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