Are Vietnamese food exports contaminated with dioxin from Agent Orange?

Polychlorinated biphenyl exposures differentially regulate hepatic metabolism and pancreatic function: Implications for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis and diabetes

The endocrine disrupting chemicals, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), have been associated with nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) and diabetes. However, an integrative analysis of the effects of PCBs on the liver and pancreas has never been performed for the two major PCB subtypes, dioxin-like (DL) and nondioxin-like (NDL), and a mixture of NDL/DL PCBs. Therefore, male C57BL/6 J mice fed a control synthetic diet were treated with either a NDL PCB mixture, Aroclor 1260 (20 mg/kg); a single DL PCB congener, PCB 126 (20 μg/kg); a NDL/DL mixture, Aroclor 1260 plus PCB 126; or vehicle control for 2 weeks. PCB126 had the greatest impact on hepatic lipid metabolism. It caused steatosis due to increased hepatic lipid import with associated hypolipidemia. However, all PCB exposures impacted expression of hepatic lipid metabolism genes in different manners. The 'NASH gene', Pnpla3, was elevated by Aroclor 1260, but decreased by all other exposures. The expression of hepatokines implicated in metabolic syndrome (Fgf21, Igf1, and betatrophin) were differentially regulated. The NDL/DL PCB mixture had the greatest effects on pancreatic histology, including acinar cell atrophy, mild steatosis, and fibrosis without ductal changes or immune cell infiltration. It decreased expression of insulin and altered the expression of genes regulating islet identity. None of these exposures was associated with altered HOMA-IR or HOMA-B. In summary, PCB exposures differentially regulated liver and pancreas structure and function. Novel mechanisms for PCB-induced endocrine/metabolic disruption included altered hepatokines and Pnpla3 as well as 'PCB pancreatopathy' that was associated with altered expression of pancreatic islet identity factors. More research is required to understand fully these findings in the context of human NASH and diabetes.

Contamination of U.S. butter with polybrominated diphenyl ethers from wrapping paper

OBJECTIVES

Our aim was to report the first known incidence of U.S. butter contamination with extremely high levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).

METHODS

Ten butter samples were individually analyzed for PBDEs. One of the samples and its paper wrapper contained very high levels of higher-brominated PBDEs. Dietary estimates were calculated using the 2007 U.S. Department of Agriculture Loss-Adjusted Food Availability data, excluding the elevated sample.

RESULTS

The highly contaminated butter sample had a total upper bound PBDE level of 42,252 pg/g wet weight (ww). Levels of brominated diphenyl ether (BDE)-206, -207, and -209 were 2,000, 2,290, and 37,600 pg/g ww, respectively. Its wrapping paper contained a total upper-bound PBDE concentration of 804,751 pg/g ww, with levels of BDE-206, -207, and -209 of 51,000, 11,700, and 614,000 pg/g, respectively. Total PBDE levels in the remaining nine butter samples ranged from 180 to 1,212 pg/g, with geometric mean of 483 and median of 284 pg/g. Excluding the outlier, total PBDE daily intake from all food was 22,764 pg/day, lower than some previous U.S. dietary intake estimates.

CONCLUSION

Higher-brominated PBDE congeners were likely transferred from contaminated wrapping paper to butter. A larger representative survey may help determine how frequently PBDE contamination occurs. Sampling at various stages in food production may identify contamination sources and reduce risk.

Persistent organic pollutants and heavy metals in typical seafoods consumed in Singapore

In this study, the levels of several heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were measured in the edible portions of 20 different seafood types consumed in Singapore (2 < n < 12). The mean heavy metal concentrations among the seafood types ranged from below detection limits (BLD) to 14.2 microg/g wet weight (ww) for As (shark), to 0.50 microg/g ww for Cd (kunning), to 25.5 microg/g ww for Cu (gray prawn), to 0.58 microg/g ww for Hg (eel), and to 1.21 microg/g ww for Pb (salmon). Chlordane, polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), and p, p'-DDT [2,2-bis(p-chlorophenyl)-1,1,1-trichloroethane] and its related metabolites (sum noted as DDTs) were the main POPs found among the seafood types, with highest concentrations in salmon fillets and green mussels. Polybrominated diphenyl ether (PBDE) concentrations in salmon fillets (2.75 ng/g ww) were one order of magnitude lower than the highest concentration of PCBs (28.5 ng/g ww). The mean daily intake of contaminants from seafood was calculated for the general population of Singapore. Daily intakes of heavy metals and POPs from seafood are below the oral reference dose set by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), except for As, although our study did not characterize the species of As present. Daily intake of As, DDTs, heptachlor, and PCBs in seafood exceeded the conservative cancer benchmark concentrations set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), suggesting that a significant number of people are potentially at risk in Singapore over a lifetime from seafood consumption.

Separation of seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls by comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography with electron-capture detection

Comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography (GC x GC) with electron-capture detection (ECD) has been optimized for the separation of seventeen 2,3,7,8-substituted polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls, with emphasis on the selection of the first- and second-dimension, commercially available, columns. When eight second-dimension columns were subsequently combined with a 100% methylpolysiloxane stationary phase (DB-1) in the first dimension to create orthogonal conditions, a complete separation of all congeners with different TEF values was obtained with two column combinations, DB-1 x VF-23 and DB-1 x LC-50. When other types of first-dimension columns were used (and orthogonality was partly sacrificed), a DB-XLB column combined with 007-65HT, VF-23 and LC-50 was found to provide a complete separation of all 29 priority congeners. Next, the potential of these three column combinations for real-life analysis was preliminarily studied. With a spiked and fractionated milk extract, DB-XLB x LC-50 was found to be the most powerful column combination, because of the good separation of the 29 priority congeners from each other as well as from the matrix constituents. Quantitative performance (close to three-order linearity; LODs, 30-150 fg injected; R.S.D.s, 1.5-6.5% (n = 10)) was satisfactory.

Dioxin, dibenzofuran, and polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) levels in food from Agent Orange-sprayed and nonsprayed areas of Laos

During the Vietnam War, a phenoxy-herbicide mixture called Agent Orange, which was contaminated with 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin, or TCDD, was used primarily for destruction of forest and other foliage in order to prevent enemy troop movement and protect American and allied troops and military bases in the south of Vietnam. Smaller areas of Laos and Cambodia were also sprayed with Agent Orange between 1962 and 1971 from fixed-wing aircraft. In 2001, 28 food samples consisting of meat, fish, and dairy products were collected in sprayed and nonsprayed areas of Laos and analyzed for dioxins, dioxinlike dibenzofurans, and selected polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners by high-resolution gas chromatography/high-resolution mass spectrometry at laboratories in Germany and Canada. Low levels of dioxin and other dioxinlike substances were found in Laotian food, similar to levels present in recent exported Vietnamese food to United States. Vietnam is geographically adjacent to Laos. Total dioxin toxic equivalent (TEQ) levels were similar in samples from sprayed and non-sprayed areas, ranging from 0.009 to 0.851 pg/g or parts per trillion (ppt) in sprayed Sepone, and from 0.022 to 0.537 pg/g or ppt wet weight in non sprayed Vientiane. However, the Laotian fish samples from the Agent Orange-sprayed area had, on average, a higher proportion of total TEQ from TCDD (31.7% vs. 9.4%) compared to the nonsprayed area. Some other food items, duck eggs and pork liver from Sepone, also had severalfold higher TCDD levels than similar food samples from Vientiane, 0.029 vs. 0.011 pg/g and 0.070 vs. 0.004 pg/g wet weight, respectively. There were no substantial differences in levels of dibenzofuran and PCB congeners. In general, elevated TCDD levels were not found in Laotian food samples. It is possible that dioxin-contaminated areas, or "hot spots," exist in Laos as they do in Vietnam, although they have not yet been identified.