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Title: Bioavailability of lead in oysters fed to young Japanese quail

Journal Article · · Environ. Res.; (United States)

The presence of lead in atmospheric particulates, soil, and seawater reflects the input of both domestic and industrial wastes. Because bivalves can concentrate large quantities of heavy metals, particularly lead, consumption of their meat may be a potential risk. The relative bioavailability of lead physiologicaly incorporated into oyster meat was investigated. Day-old Japanese quail were fed purified diets with three levels of lead added as either lead acetate, freeze-dried lead-dosed oyster, or lead acetate plus freeze-dried control oyster for 2 weeks. Feeding lead from any source had little or no effect on body weight, hemoglobin, hematocrit, or percentage ash in the tibia. The concentration of lead in tibia at each level of dietary lead for each type of diet was different from those for all other levels of dietary lead. Slope-ratio analysis of the data showed that lead intrinsically incorporated into oyster meat was 69-75% as bioavailable as lead in lead acetate at levels between 25 and 100 ppm dietary lead. The combinations of (1) control oyster meat with lead acetate and (2) lead acetate with copper and zinc levels equal to those in oyster meat gave responses similar to those of the lead-dosed oyster groups. Although these data showed lower bioavailability of lead in oyster meat as compared with lead acetate, the intercept of the lines at 25 ppm dietary lead suggests that the relative bioavailability may be reserved at lower levels of lead intake.

Research Organization:
Food and Drug Administration, Washington, D.C.
OSTI ID:
5850831
Journal Information:
Environ. Res.; (United States), Vol. 26:2
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English