Assimilation, distribution and toxicity of tetrabromobisphenol A to female Wistar rats through subchronic dermal exposure

Abstract Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) is one of the most widely used brominated flame retardants and is frequently detected in environmental and biological samples. While numerous studies have been conducted on the health effects and toxicokinetics upon oral exposure, few have explored other exposure routes. In the present study, TBBPA was administered to female Wistar rats for 90 days by repeated dermal exposure at 20, 60, 200 and 600 mg TBBPA/kg body weight, and subsequently the concentrations of TBBPA in serum, urine, and feces were determined. TBBPA concentration ranged between 38.26 and 115.9 μg/g lipid in serum, 0.62 and 1.02 ng/μM creatinine in urine, and 288.22 and 1815.66 μg/g in feces. Approximately 3.76–13.40% of the applied TBBPA were absorbed dermally and transported for distribution, but the amount of TBBPA detected in blood was relatively small. The majority of the TBBPA was excreted in feces after dermal exposure while small quantities of TBBPA were found in urine. No significant effects on animal growth or organ coefficients for the thymus, heart, lung, liver, kidneys, spleen, ovary, and brain were observed after subchronic dermal exposure to TBBPA. In addition, repeated dermal administration for 90 days did not induce visible skin pathologic lesions in the female Wistar rats. Our results show that the TBBPA via dermal exposure was mainly discharged through fecal route and residual concentration was low in blood, and the effects of TBBPA were not apparent in animals following subchronic dermal exposure.