ENDOCRINE DISRUPTING AND BIOCHEMICAL EFFECTS OF PBDES IN A SONGBIRD, THE EUROPEAN STARLING (STURNUS VULGARIS)

摘要

We exposed female European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) to environmentally relevant concentrations of a pentabromodiphenyl ether (Penta-BDE) mixture through subcutaneous implants, and examined endocrine disruptive and biochemical effects. Sum PBDEs accumulated in the serum of the exposed females from 218 ± 43 pg/ml to a peak concentration of 23 400 ± 2030 pg/ml. Sum PBDE concentrations in the control group ranged from 151 ± 27 pg/ml serum to 313 ± 132 pg/ml throughout the exposure period. To investigate endocrine disrupting effects of PBDEs, testosterone, estradiol and thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) were measured in the serum. No signficant differences were found between the control and exposed group in hormone concentrations. However, triiodothyronine (T3) concentrations were lower in the exposed group compared to the control group, although this difference was not significant. Our results also suggested that PBDEs may be responsible for lower albumin and triglyceride concentrations in the serum of exposed individuals. There were no significant differences found between the control and exposed group for the other biochemical parameters (total protein, uric acid, cholesterol, AST, total antioxidative capacity, HDL and creatine kinase). To our knowledge, our study is the first to report effects of PBDEs on albumin and triglyceride concentrations.