Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Liver and Their Metabolites in Bile of Flounder (Paralichthys olivaceus) Orally Exposed to Crude Oil and Heavy Fuel Oil

Abstract

Assuming that fish in the wild take up polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) through the food web, the juvenile flounders (Paralichthys olivaceus) were orally exposed to 400 mg/kg of crude oil from the United Arab Emirates or heavy fuel oil from the tanker Nakhodka through food contaminated with these oils. The changes in concentrations of PAHs in liver and of their metabolites in bile were studied in the during a 14-day exposure period followed by a 12-day elimination period. Total PAH concentrations in liver were 83.9 ng/g for crude oil and 71.6 ng/g for heavy fuel oil, and phenanthrene was the component with the highest concentration in each group (38.5 ng/g for crude oil and 28.9 ng/g for heavy fuel oil) after 14 days of exposure. PAHs with molecular weight greater than those of 1,2-benzanthracene and chrysene were rarely detected in liver. The PAH metabolites detected in the bile were o-, m-, and p-hydroxybiphenyls, 9-hydroxyfluorene, 9-hydroxyphenanthrene, and 1-hydroxypyrene. However, their concentrations were relatively low and roughly similar to those of PAHs in liver. On the basis of our results, we suggest that orally adsorbed PAHs do not contribute to the accumulations of PAHs and their metabolites in flounder.