Effect of oral exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons on goat's milk contamination

The impact of chronic exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) on milk contamination was evaluated by oral administration of a mixture of fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene, chrysene, benzo(k)fluorene, benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene at 0.02 mg/kg to lactating goats for 28 days. We analysed PAHs and their major metabolites in milk by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. The results evidence several major points: (1) benzo(k)fluorene, benzo(a)pyrene and benzo(g,h,i)perylene were not detected in the milk; (2) unexpectedly, the concentration of fluorene, phenanthrene, anthracene, fluoranthene, pyrene and chrysene did not change with time; (3) monohydroxylated PAH metabolites (-OH), namely 2-OH-fluorene, 3-OH-phenanthrene and 1-OH-pyrene were detected shortly after administration. The concentrations of 2-OH-fluorene and 3-OH-phenanthrene reached, respectively, maxima of 0.41 and 0.22 ng/mL during the first exposure week, whereas the concentration of 1-OH pyrene increased to reach a maximum of 0.97 ng/mL on day 14, then slightly decreased during the last two exposure weeks. Those findings suggest a lack of activation of a metabolism that could lead to an excretion of PAHs into milk under native forms. However, a slight increase in concentration could induce the metabolism, which should lead to an increase in the excretion of metabolites into the milk. In spite of the absence of a significant transfer of parent PAHs to milk, the appearance of metabolites in milk raises questions of their impact on human health.