Uptake, Metabolism, and Elimination of Fungicides from Coated Wheat Seeds in Japanese Quail (Coturnix japonica)

Authors

Michael S. Gross, California Water Science Center, United States Geological SurveyFollow
Thomas G. Bean, University of Maryland, College Park
Michelle L. Hladik, California Water Science Center, United States Geological Survey
Barnett A. Rattner, Patuxent Wildlife Research Center, United States Geological Survey
Kathryn M. Kuivila, Oregon Water Science Center, United States Geological Survey

ORCID IDs

orcid.org/0000-0002-2433-166X

orcid.org/0000-0002-0891-2712

orcid.org/0000-0003-3676-2843

Document Type

Article

Date of this Version

2020

Citation

J. Agric. Food Chem. 2020, 68, 1514−1524

Comments

U.S. government works are not subject to copyright.

Abstract

Pesticides coated to the seed surface potentially pose an ecological risk to granivorous birds that consume incompletely buried or spilled seeds. To assess the toxicokinetics of seeds treated with current-use fungicides, Japanese quail ( Coturnix japonica) were orally dosed with commercially coated wheat seeds. Quail were exposed to metalaxyl, tebuconazole, and fludioxonil at either a low dose (0.0655, 0.0308, and 0.0328 mg/kg of body weight, respectively) or a high dose (0.196, 0.0925, and 0.0985 mg/kg of body weight, respectively). Fungicides were rapidly absorbed and distributed to tissues. Tebuconazole was metabolized into tert-butylhydroxy-tebuconazole. All compounds were eliminated to below detection limits within 24 h. The high detection frequencies observed in fecal samples potentially offer a non-invasive matrix to monitor pesticide exposure. With the summation of total body burden across plasma, tissue, and fecal samples, less than 9% of the administered dose was identified as the parent fungicide, demonstrating the importance to monitor both active ingredients and their metabolites in biological samples.