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Biochemical Responses and Accumulation Properties of Long-Chain Perfluorinated Compounds (PFOS/PFDA/PFOA) in Juvenile Chickens (Gallus gallus)

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Abstract

One-day-old male chickens were exposed via oral gavage to mixtures of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), and perfluorodecanoate (PFDA) at either a low dose (0.1 mg/kg body weight [b.w.]) or a high dose (1.0 mg/kg b.w.), or a saline/ethanol vehicle control, three times a week for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks of exposure, half of the chicks were sacrificed and the other half were allowed to depurate for a further 3 weeks. No dose-dependent statistically significant differences in body/organ weights were observed among treatment and control groups after 3 weeks of exposure or after three 3 of depuration. Neither 15 histological nor 14 measured plasma biochemical parameters were significantly different in chicks from the exposed groups and vehicle controls. PFOS, PFDA, and PFOA concentrations in blood/liver/kidney samples were measured throughout the exposure and depuration periods at different time intervals. PFOS and PFDA accumulated at much higher concentrations than PFOA during the experimental periods. Interestingly, PFOS and PFDA accumulation patterns in the blood were similar during the exposure and depuration periods. The half-lives for each PFC at the 0.1 and 1.0 mg/kg doses were, respectively, approximately 15 and 17 days for PFOS, 11 and 16 days for PFDA, and 3.9 and 3.9 days for PFOA. PFDA accumulation in organs was greater than or similar to that of PFOS: the liver was the main target during exposure and the blood was the main reservoir during depuration. These results indicate that exposure to a 1.0-mg mixture of PFOS/PFDA/PFOA/kg b.w. has no adverse effect on juvenile chickens.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank Mr. Tsutai Ohashi, Miss Yoko Taguchi, and Mr. Eisui Itakura of NIAH, Japan, for their invaluable assistance during the experiment. The authors also thank Dr. Margaret Murphy for her critical comments on the manuscript. This study was partly supported by a Grant-in-Aid from the Global Environment Conservation Research Fund to K.S.G. (NIAH) by the Environmental Ministry of Japan (years 2004–2008). P.K.S.L. would like to acknowledge the support of a Strategic Research Grant (7002293) from City University of Hong Kong. This work was undertaken during the tenure of a City University Postgraduate Studentship to L.W.Y.Y.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Safety Research Team, National Institute of Animal Health, Kannondai 3-1-5, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-0856, Japan

    Leo W. Y. Yeung, Eva I. H. Loi, Vicky Y. Y. Wong, Keerthi S. Guruge, Noriko Yamanaka, Nobuhiko Tanimura, Jun Hasegawa & Shigeru Miyazaki

  2. Department of Biology and Chemistry, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, People’s Republic of China

    Leo W. Y. Yeung, Eva I. H. Loi, Vicky Y. Y. Wong & Paul K. S. Lam

  3. National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, Onogawa 16-1, Tsukuba, Japan

    Leo W. Y. Yeung & Nobuyoshi Yamashita

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  1. Leo W. Y. Yeung
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Correspondence to Keerthi S. Guruge.

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Yeung, L.W.Y., Loi, E.I.H., Wong, V.Y.Y. et al. Biochemical Responses and Accumulation Properties of Long-Chain Perfluorinated Compounds (PFOS/PFDA/PFOA) in Juvenile Chickens (Gallus gallus). Arch Environ Contam Toxicol 57, 377–386 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00244-008-9278-3

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