Relative Disposition of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in Paired Liver and Muscle Tissues from Different Species of Farm Animals and Different Contamination Scenarios

Fernandes, A. R., Lake, Iain, Diletti, G., Ceci, R. and Scortichini, G. (2026) Relative Disposition of PCDD/Fs and PCBs in Paired Liver and Muscle Tissues from Different Species of Farm Animals and Different Contamination Scenarios. Environmental Research. ISSN 0013-9351 (In Press)

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Abstract

Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and furans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are preferentially retained in animal liver and adipose. Distribution between these tissues is of particular interest in species raised for food but is difficult to ascertain because of limited study numbers, most of which use tissues sourced from different animals. This report overcame such limitations by using paired liver/muscle from the same animals. It combined data from seven independent studies on four species and variable (low, moderate, high) levels of pasture/housing contamination. In >150 animals sampled in the UK and Italy, PCDD/F and PCB toxic equivalence (TEQ) occurred to a significantly (P<0.001) higher level in livers of sheep and pigs (>15:1, liver:muscle), reducing to 4:1 for cattle, but chicken tissues showed similar distribution. Occurrence levels were consistent with pasture contamination. Congener patterns in muscle and liver were similar for chickens and pigs but were notable different for PCDD/Fs in sheep. Remarkably, PCDD/Fs consistently dominated the TEQ in UK cattle and sheep (average, 69% - liver and 52% - muscle), rising to 69% (chickens) and 81-95% (pigs). Conversely, PCBs dominated TEQ (average, 65-95% and 80-98% in liver and muscle respectively) in Italian cattle and sheep. This divergence may arise from differences in feed, husbandry and geography but elevated PCB contamination has been reported in some Southern Italian locations. The higher liver contamination corresponds to the ability of these contaminants to induce and bind to the hepatic CYP1A2 enzyme, restricting CYP-mediated metabolism with resulting liver retention or sequestration.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	dioxins,food contaminants,livestock,aryl hydrocarbon receptor (ahr),cyp1a2,human exposure,3*,synthesis of many dietary sample.s, international authorship, good journal. probably not 3+ ,/dk/atira/pure/researchoutput/REFrank/3_
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Science > School of Environmental Sciences University of East Anglia Research Groups/Centres > Theme - ClimateUEA
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Centre for Ecology, Evolution and Conservation University of East Anglia Schools > Faculty of Science > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Centres > Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research Faculty of Science > Research Groups > Environmental Social Sciences
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	23 Jan 2026 15:32
Last Modified:	23 Jan 2026 15:32
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/101697
DOI:	issn:0013-9351

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