title: Identification of a fungi-derived terrestrial halogenated natural product in wild boar (Sus scrofa).
abstract: In this study, we identified and quantitated a tetrachlorinated compound found at high concentrations in some samples of the meat of free-ranging wild boar (Sus scrofa) from Southern Germany. Mass spectrometric analysis indicated that the compound was a tetrachloromethoxyphenol isomer, and the subsequently synthesized tetrachloro-p-methoxyphenol was identical with the unknown compound in wild boar. Tetrachloro-p-methoxyphenol is a known secondary metabolite of basidiomycetous fungi, which in turn are regular feed items of the wild boar. It is extremely likely that the wild boar have accumulated tetrachloro-p-methoxyphenol by exploiting basidiomycetes. The highest concentration in the samples (n = 22) was ~1 mg/kg lipids tetrachloro-p-methoxyphenol. This concentration was higher than that of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) in any of the samples. Some samples did not contain tetrachloro-p-methoxyphenol, which indicates varied preferences in fungi by wild boars. Our data suggest that during their entire evolution, humans have been in contact with the natural product tetrachloro-p-methoxyphenol by consuming wild boars.
authors.affiliation: Bayerisches Landesamt für Gesundheit und Lebensmittelsicherheit, Veterinärstrasse 2, D-85764 Oberschleissheim, Germany.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hiebl
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Lehnert
authors.forename: Walter
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Vetter
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001487:Basidiomycota / Q000737:chemistry / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism*; D004435:Eating; D005858:Germany; D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D008460:Meat / Q000032:analysis* / Q000382:microbiology; D034421:Sus scrofa / Q000382:microbiology / Q000502:physiology*
chemical_list: D006846:Hydrocarbons, Halogenated