Bioaccumulation and Distribution of Hexabromocyclododecane Isomers in Duck Tissues.

Eighty ducks (Sheldrake, Anas platyrhynchos) from Zhejiang Province, China were fed capsules containing commercialized hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) at low (0.8 mg/kg/day) or high (1.6 mg/kg/day) exposure level, or only maize starch for 21 days. Then the next 21 days was set as depuration period. Ducks were euthanizated at 0, 7, 14 and 21 days after last dose and ten duck tissues including skin, tongue, intestines, heart, gizzard, muscle, liver, lung, brain and blood were sampled, separately. Three HBCDs including α-HBCD, β-HBCD and γ-HBCD in duck tissue samples were analyzed. At the end of depuration period, the total HBCDs concentration in skin was significantly higher than those in the other tissues (p < 0.05). The elimination rates of the three isomers in skin, tongue, intestines, heart, gizzard and brain were in the order β- > γ- > α-HBCD. The enantioselectivity of three HBCDs enantiomers was also studied in ten duck tissues. It was shown that the EF (enrichment factor) for two γ-HBCD enantiomers was significant lower than 0.5 (p < 0.05) in gizzard, heart, muscle, tongue, intestinal and liver at the end of depuration day, showing a selective accumulation of (+)-γ-HBCD in these tissues. This study provided a reference for evaluation on the accumulation of the persistent contamination of HBCDs in edible poultry.