Fetal accumulation

Brandt, I., L. Dencker and Y. Larsson, "Transplacental Passage and Embryonic-Fetal Accumulation of Hexachlorophene in Mice, Toxicol. Appl. Pharmacol. 49, 393-401 (June,... 

FETAL ACCUMULATION OF LONG-CHAIN POLYUNSATURATED FATTY ACIDS... 

Different animal species eat different foods in which the fatty acids vary considerably. Adaptation to different food structures throughout evolution could have led either to differences in brain lipids or, if the resistance to change was sufficiently great, the same lipid profile would evolve, but associated with differnet degrees of brain development. In this paper we wish to present data from a comparative analysis of 45 different animal species together with results obtained from the study of the fetal accumulation of the brain EFA in the human and in the guinea-pig. 

To examine the fetal accumulation of polyenoates we have used guinea-pigs at about 25-30 days pregnant. They were dosed orally with 25-50 yCi of labelled a-linolenic acid. The animals were killed at time intervals up to 96 hours after administration. 

Pesticides accumulate in fetal cells and reproductive organs in mammals, birds, and fish due to biochemical processes. This is noted especially often for OCPs, which were observed in large amounts (up to 6.8 mg/kg) in, for example, the sexual organs of hares, rabbits, pheasants, green-winged teals, and in white-eyed and red-headed ducks. They were found in animal embryos, as well as in black thrush eggs and in pheasant embryos and amniotic fluid (up to 73.0 mg/kg) [3]. 

Mirex has considerable potential for chronic toxicity because it is only partly metabolized, is eliminated very slowly, and is accumulated in the fat, liver, and brain. The most common effects observed in small laboratory mammals fed mirex included weight loss, enlarged livers, altered liver enzyme metabolism, and reproductive failure. Mirex reportedly crossed placental membranes and accumulated in fetal tissues. Among the progeny of mirex-treated mammals, developmental abnormalities included cataracts, heart defects, scoliosis, and cleft palates (NAS 1978 Blus 1995). 

Wilkinson JM, Pollard I. (1993). Accumulation of theophylline, theobromine, and paraxanthine in the fetal rat brain following a single oral dose of caffeine. Brain Res Dev Brain Res. 75(2) 193-99. Winstock AR, Trivedy CR, Warnakulasuriya KAAS, Peters TJ. (In press). A dependency syndrome related to areca nut use some medical and psychological aspects among areca nut users in the Gujarat community in the UK. Addict Biol. 

Radioactivity from " C-labeled chloroform was detected in the placenta and fetuses of mice shortly after inhalation exposure (Danielsson et al. 1986). In early gestation, accumulation of radioactivity was observed in the embryonic neural tissues, while the respiratory epithelium was more involved in chloroform metabolism in the late fetal period. 

Bacteria convert mercury (quick silver) to methyl mercury (CH3-Hg) in an effort to detoxify the mercury. Other organisms, including fish, consume the bacteria along with the methyl mercury. Larger fish consume the smaller fish and accumulate methyl mercury in muscle. Humans and other animals consume the fish and can be poisoned by the mercury. The developing fetus is particularly sensitive to the adverse developmental effects of methyl mercury. The tragic effects of fetal methyl mercury... 

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