Mammary transfer and metabolism in the rat of halogenated fatty acids of halogenated olive oil

To assess possible incorporation of halogenated fatty acids into the neonate via the milk, a 4-day study was carried out in which lactating Wistar rats were orally dosed with either brominated olive oil (BOO) (0.6 g/kg body wt/day) or chlorinated olive oil (COO) (0.4 g/kg body wt/day) for the first 4 days. On days 1–5 inclusive 2 pups per litter were sacrificed and the stomach curd and livers analyzed for halogenated fatty acids by gas liquid chromatography (GLC). On day 5 all dams also were sacrificed and their livers and adipose tissue similarly analyzed. With BOO, brominated fatty acids (bfa) accumulated in both the milk lipids and neonate liver lipids, and appeared to plateau on day 4 at levels of 2% and 5% respectively. In contrast to the BOO in which approximately 100% of the bfa was dibromostearis (DBS), the milk bfa comprised 79% (DBS), 9% dibromopalmitic (DBP) and 12% dibromomyristic (DBM) acids, suggesting maternal metabolism to the shorter chain brominated acids. In the neonate liver lipids the bfa composition was 47% (DBS), 12% (DBP) and 41% (DBM), suggesting either further metabolism in the neonate and/or preferential accumulation of the shorter chain brominated acids. The analysis of maternal tissue indicated very low bfa residues, contrary to previous studies in non-lactating rats. Similar results were obtained with COO.