Distribution of dieldrin-14C in pheasant tissues after a single administration

Abstract

The distribution and excretion of dieldrin-14C in 18 laying hen pheasants were studied by administration of a single gelatin capsule containing 1.4 mg. of dieldrin labeled with 5.5 microcuries. Dieldrin residues were detected using electron capture gas chromatography and liquid scintillation counting in tissues 2 hours after treatment.Highest average level of residues occurred in all tissues after 6 hours with fat having 6.45 p.p.m.; liver 1.56 p.p.m.; and brain, heart, and muscle less than 0.3 p.p.m. Three birds appeared to absorb 86, 89, and 97 % of the 1.4 mg. of administered dieldrin. Birds killed 5 weeks after treatment excreted 26.5, 21.5, and 18.2% of the dieldrin in their feces; 11.5, 14.4, and 13.0% in their eggs; and 34.6, 21.2, and 32.7% remained in the body. Indirect evidence indicated water-soluble metabolites in the feces but not in egg yolks, while no evidence of ether-soluble metabolites was found in eggs or tissues.

Relative toxicity of aldrin and dieldrin

“…All extracts were purified by the column chromatographic system of Langlois et al (1963). The quantities of aldrin or dieldrin in the beetle extracts were determined in terms of microgram of insecticide from the peak area of the glc recordings (Nelson and Hamilton, 1970;Lamb et al, 1970).…”

“…Insecticide replication and extraction procedures followed those used in the experiments. After elution of the 1 KMabeled insecticides, the insect solids remaining on the chromatographic column and several 1-g samples of the Florisil from the column were assayed for radioactivity in a Packard Tri-Carb automatic scintillation counter (Lamb et al, 1970) having a counting efficiency of 83.9%.…”