Accumulation of halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons and activities of cytochrome P450 and glutathione S-transferase in crabs (Eriocheir japonicus) from Japanese rivers
- Hokkaido Univ., Sapporo (Japan)
- Osaka City Inst. of Public Health and Environmental Sciences, Tennoji (Japan)
The hepatopancreases of freshwater crabs (Eriocheir japonicus) collected from three Japanese rivers were analyzed for planar halogenated aromatic hydrocarbons (HAHs), including polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), dibenzofurans (PCDFs), and coplanar polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). The hepatic glutathione S-transferase (GST)-dependent enzyme activities in the crab hepatopancreas were also measured to examine their potential as biomarkers for the contaminants. Crabs from the Tone River, which runs through industrial, agricultural, and urban areas, have the highest concentrations of HAHs (4,100 pg/g fat weight), followed by those from the Barato River (2,430--2,970 pg/g fat weight), whereas crabs from the Shiribetsu River were relatively less contaminated (1,350--1,800 pg/g fat weight). Identification and numerous PCDD and PCDF congeners in crabs from the Barato and Shiribetsu Rivers were notably contaminated with 1,3,6,8- and 1,3,7,9-TeCDD congeners, which suggests that a possible source was chlornitrofen, which has been extensively used in paddy fields as a herbicide. Calculation of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs) showed that the causal contaminants of higher TEQs in crabs from the Tone River (94.7 TEQ picograms per gram fat weight) were PCDDs and PCDFs, although the most important contributor to the total TEQs was coplanar PCBs (49.95%). The crab hepatopancreas appeared to have abilities to transfer glutathione to 1-chloro-2,4-nitrobenzene (CDNB) and 3,4-dichloronitrobenzene (DCNB). The crabs with the highest TEQ levels showed the highest GST activities.
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE
- OSTI ID:
- 675396
- Journal Information:
- Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Vol. 17, Issue 8; Other Information: PBD: Aug 1998
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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