M. S. Chi

Excretion and tissue distribution of radioactivity from tritium-labeled T-2 toxin in chicks.

Abstract The excretion and distribution of radioactivity in 6-week-old broiler chicks intubated with a single dose of 3- 3 H-labeled T-2 toxin were investigated during the 48-h period after dosing. Chicks excreted 6.7, 20.7, 42.1, 60.5,and 81.6% of the recovered radioactivity at 4, 8, 12, 24, and 48 h, respectively. The gastrointestinal (GI) tract contained 88.8, 74.0, 63.3, 38.0, 26.9, and 10.4% of the recovered radioactivity at 0.5, 4, 8, 12, 24 and 48 hr, respectively. The abdominal fat and heart contained the least amount of radioactivity among those tissues analyzed. The radioactivity from 3 H-labeled T-2 toxin reached a maximum concentration 4 hr after dosing in most tissues except for the muscle, skin, and bile; in the latter tissues, the maximum radioactivity was attained at 12 hr. The specific radioactivities (disintegrations per minute per milligram of tissue) of the blood, muscle, skin, and heart were similar throughout the 48 hr period. The bile, including the gall bladder, contained the highest specific radioactivity among organs and tissues (except GI tract) during the 48 hr period. The edible portions of the carcass contained 0.06 and 0.04 ppm of T-2 or its metabolites at 24 and 48 hr, respectively after dosing with 0.5 mg of T-2/kg body weight. The patterns of distribution and excretion suggest that T-2 toxin and/or its metabolites are excreted into the intestine through the bile and that the liver is a major organ for excretion of the toxin.