Identification of hydroxylated metabolites of hexabromocyclododecane in wildlife and 28-days exposed Wistar rats.

We studied the presence of hydroxylated metabolites of hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in three wildlife species (tern egg, seal, and flounder) and in Wistar rats exposed to 30 and 100 mg HBCD/kg bw/day for 28 days. A nondestructive extraction, fractionation, and cleanup method was developed to separate the hydroxylated HBCD metabolites from the biotic sample matrix. Four different groups of hydroxylated HBCD metabolites were identified in rat adipose, liver, lung, and muscle tissues by liquid and gas chromatography (LC and GC) combined with mass spectrometry (MS): monohydroxy metabolites of HBCD, pentabromocyclododecene (PBCDe), tetrabromocyclododecene (TBCDe), and dihydroxy-HBCD. Dihydroxy-PBCDe was identified by GC-MS but could not be confirmed by LCMS. Debromination of HBCD to PBCDe was another metabolic pathway observed. In tern eggs from the Western Scheldt the monohydroxy-HBCD was found and in the blubber of harbor seal (Wadden Sea) the monohydroxy metabolites of HBCD and PBCDe were found. No hydroxylated metabolites were detected in the tissue of flounder (Wadden Sea). To our knowledge, this is the first study to identify different hydroxylated metabolite groups of HBCD in rat and wildlife samples.