title: Use of biliary PAH metabolites as a biomarker of pollution in fish from the Baltic Sea.
abstract: During field campaigns of the BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems) in 2001-2002, metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in bile samples from three fish species, flounder (Platichthys flesus), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and eelpout (Zoarces viviparus), from four separate areas in the Baltic Sea. Two determination methods were applied: fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) for pyrene-type metabolites and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC). There was a good correlation between the FF method and 1-OH pyrene determined by HPLC. Normalisation of the FF data for absorbance at 380 nm or bile protein concentrations greatly increased variance in one third and decreased it in two thirds of the cases and resulted in a loss of significant differences (protein normalisation) between the sampling stations, but normalisation of the HPLC data had little effect on the results. The biliary PAH metabolite content was usually higher in males than in females. In perch and eelpout the biliary PAH contents were at similar levels, whereas in flounder the levels were lower. The sampling areas arranged in decreasing order of biliary PAH contents were: Wismar Bay > Gulf of Gdansk > Lithuanian coast > Kvadofjärden (reference area). It is concluded that FF with un-normalised data is a reliable and simple method for monitoring purposes and only one sex of a selected species should be used.
authors.affiliation: Finnish Game and Fisheries Research Institute, PO Box 2, FI-00791 Helsinki, Finland. pekka.vuorinen@rktl.fi
authors.forename: Pekka J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Vuorinen
authors.forename: Marja
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Keinänen
authors.forename: Heta
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Vuontisjärvi
authors.forename: Janina
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barsiene
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Broeg
authors.forename: Lars
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Förlin
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gercken
authors.forename: Justyna
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kopecka
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Köhler
authors.forename: Jari
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Parkkonen
authors.forename: Janusz
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pempkowiak
authors.forename: Doris
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schiedek
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D000818:Animals; D001454:Baltic States; D001659:Biliary Tract / Q000737:chemistry*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000032:analysis*; D002851:Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D005399:Fishes / Q000378:metabolism*; D005453:Fluorescence; D008297:Male; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons / Q000032:analysis* / Q000378:metabolism; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D012737:Sex Factors; D013045:Species Specificity
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D011084:Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons