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Bioavailability and Uptake of Xenobiotics in Fish

  • Chapter
Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment

Part of the book series: Springer Series on Environmental Management ((SSEM))

Summary

The bioavailability of chlorinated and brominated phenols, guaiacols and veratroles, hexachlorobenzene and benz(a)pyrene to fish has been evaluated from direct measurements of absorption rates across the gill epithelium. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) the bioavailability of organic xenobiotics is related to their partition coefficient in octanol/water (Pow), and (2) the absorption rate of ionizable compounds is pH-dependent and directly proportional to the concentration of the non-ionized form (pH-partition hypothesis).

A positive correlation between the Pow value and the absorption rate was observed for substances with log Pow ranging from 1 to 4. However, no correlation was apparent above log Pow 4 and even a tendency to reduced rates was observed for the compounds with the highest Pow values (hexachlorobenzene and benz(a)pyrene). It is concluded that the partition coefficient has a limited value as a predictor of the bioavailability of the compounds studied, particularly for those with log Pow values above 4.

The absorption rates of ionizable compounds were pH-dependent. Observed rates at a pH above the pKa of the substances were higher than expected on basis of the pH-partition hypothesis. This indicates that the ionized form contributed to the absorption rates. So the pH-partition hypothesis is too simple to be used in predictions of the bioavailability of ionizable compounds at pH higher than the pKa. It will lead to underestimations of actual absorption rates.

Neither salinity nor hardness had effects on the penetration rates of the compounds tested. The only water quality parameter affecting the absorption rate was turbidity (suspended charcoal particles). Compounds bound to particles were apparently not available for absorption through the gills.

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Authors
  1. Peter Pärt
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Swedish Environmental Research Group, Götgatan 35, 116 21, Stockholm, Sweden

    Lars Landner

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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Pärt, P. (1989). Bioavailability and Uptake of Xenobiotics in Fish. In: Landner, L. (eds) Chemicals in the Aquatic Environment. Springer Series on Environmental Management. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61334-0_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-61334-0_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-64796-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-61334-0

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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