Studies on the metabolism of chlorophenols in fish. VI. Turnover of absorbed phenol in goldfish.

A study has been made regarding the turnover of absorbed phenol in various organs of goldfish, Carassius auratus, during absorption in a phenol-medium (15 ppm) and its subsequent excretion in running water. Although the absorbed phenol accumulated in various organs, the phenol concentration in each organ, except gall bladder, was almost constant after 2 hr of exposure and rapidly decreased after transfer of the fish from the phenol-medium to running water. The phenol concentration in the gall bladder, however, increased with exposure time, even after fish had been transferred to running water, and reached a maximal value of 214.7 μg/g at 1-hr culture in running water. The phenol concentration in the gall bladder decreased to 144.7μg/g at the end of the excretion period (for 24 hr), but its amount accounted for 37% of the total phenol detected. The characteristic accumulation of phenol in the gall bladder indicates that the biliary excretion of phenol from the liver, probably after its detoxication by sulfate conjugation, is an important mechanism for the disposition of phenol in fish, as well as for that of pentachlorophenol as reported by KOBAYASHI et al. (1975).