Bromophenol concentrations in fish from Salvador, BA, Brazil

The main objective of this work is to evaluate the occurrence of bromophenols (2-bromophenol, 4-bromophenol, 2,4dibromophenol, 2,6-dibromophenol and 2,4,6-tribromophenol), in the flesh and guts in two species of the Lutjanidae Family: Lutjanus synagris and Ocyurus chrysurus. The bromophenols were extracted by steam distillation with pentaneether (7:3 v/v), identified by reverse phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC-UV), and quantified by the external-standard method. Total bromophenol concentrations were similar in the muscle of both species, ranging from 36 ng g –1 to 349 ng g –1 . The total bromophenol concentrations in stomach (ranging from 12 ng g –1 to 586 ng g –1 ) were slightly higher than in muscle. The presence of bromophenol in the muscles of the species under study may occur as a result of their diet. The results of this work are therefore expected to contribute toward a better understanding of the path of bromophenol absorption from the fish’s stomach to the rest of its body.