THE UPTAKE, METABOLISM, AND BIOLOGICAL HALF-LIFE OF BENZO[A]PYRENE ADMINISTERED BY FORCE-FEEDING IN SEA BASS (DICENTRARCHUS-LABRAX)

The kinetics of uptake and metabolism of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) were studied in various tissues of a marine fish, the sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), after intragastric administration of pellets containing a 14C-labeled compound. Only 25% of injected radioactivity was detected and it was found only in intestine, gallbladder, liver, and kidney. The major part of radioactivity was found in gallbladder (85% of the whole body radioactivity). The calculated half-lives determined after the decrease in radioactivity measured in these tissues were 8.2, 3.5, 3.3, and 0.8 days for liver, gallbladder, intestine, and kidney, respectively. The kinetics of distribution of radioactivity between alkali and hexane tissue extracts showed the high metabolization potential of intestine which represents the main site of BaP uptake by this route of exposure. The other organs received mainly metabolites brought by general blood circulation. Intragastric administration as an experimental exposure route compared to other exposure patterns and particularly intraperitoneal injection, which has been used previously in the same species and under the same experimental conditions for the same kind of study, is discussed. © 1992.