INFLUENCE OF TIME AND MODE OF EXPOSURE ON BIOTRANSFORMATION OF NAPHTHALENE BY JUVENILE STARRY FLOUNDER (PLATICHTHYS-STELLATUS) AND ROCK SOLE (LEPIDOPSETTA-BILINEATA)

Juvenile starry flounder (Platichthys stellatus) and rock sole (Lepidopsetta bilineata) were force-fed 56 μCi each of 1-3H-naphthalene dissolved in salmon oil. Values for radioactivity associated with naphthalene and the metabolite fraction were determined for various tissues and body fluids. Results show that these pleuronectids extensively metabolize dietary naphthalene. The rates of decline in naphthalene concentrations (expressed as disintegrations per minute per milligram of dry tissue) were greater than the rates of decline in metabolite concentrations (dpm/mg) in liver, blood, and skin; therefore, relative proportion of metabolites to naphthalene increased with time and at 168 hr after the initiation of the naphthalene-exposure, more than half of the total radioactivity in both species of fish was associated with the metabolites. Profiles of metabolites in liver, skin, and bile were obtained using thin-layer chromatography. 1,2-Dihydro-1,2-dihydroxynaphthalene constituted 38.7 and 39.7%, respectively, of the total extracted metabolites in livers of the naphthalene-exposed rock sole and starry flounder at 24 hr, whereas the bile from both species contained primarily (>90%) conjugates. From 24 to 168 hr, a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the proportion of the dihydrodiol derivative and a concomitant increase in the proportion of conjugates-specifically, sulfate/glucoside fraction-were observed with livers of both rock sole and starry flounder. No significant change occurred in the spectrum of biliary metabolites with time. The pattern of metabolites in skin of both species was qualitatively similar to that in liver; however, the proportion of the dihydrodiol was greater in skin than in liver at 24 hr. When naphthalene (56 μCi) dissolved in salmon oil was administered to starry flounder via intraperitoneal injection, the extent of biotransformation was less than after dietary exposure. Moreover, metabolites in the livers of the fish in the injection study were predominantly (76.7% of total extracted metabolites) non-conjugates at 24 hr. Once again, from 24 to 168 hr, an increase in the proportion of the sulfate/glucoside fraction and a concomitant decrease in the proportion of the dihydrodiol was observed with liver. These studies demonstrate that the extent of biotransformation of naphthalene and the types of metabolites remaining in tissues (e.g., liver) of flatfish are greatly influenced by both the mode of exposure and the time elapsed after the exposure is initiated. It appears therefore, that different exposures (e.g., in water, food, or sediment) of pleuronectids to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons may result in different degrees of alteration in genetic material because of variability in accumulation of non-conjugated metabolites, some of which are implicated in covalent binding with DNA in terrestrial mammals. © 1979 Springer-Verlag New York Inc.