Pyrene biotransformation products as biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon exposure in terrestrial isopoda: Concentration-response relationship, and field study in a contaminated forest

Abstract In this study, biotransformation products of pyrene were measured in the hepatopancreas of terrestrial isopods as biomarkers of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) exposure. These products—pyrene‐1‐glucoside, pyrene‐1‐sulfate, an unknown pyrene conjugate, and 1‐hydroxypyrene—were quantitated using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. In a controlled exposure experiment, a linear relationship was established between pyrene exposure and pyrene metabolite concentrations in the hepatopancreas of Porcellio scaber Latr. To this end, isopods of the species P. scaber were exposed to a range of pyrene concentrations spiked to their food. A linear response was found for all pyrene conjugates in the range 0.67 to 67 μg/g of pyrene (dry wt). Hepatopancreatic pyrene metabolite concentrations were also measured in isopods ( P. scaber and Oniscus asellus L.) from PAH‐contaminated field sites. The sites and the inhabiting isopods were located in a gradient of atmospheric PAH deposition caused by a nearby blast furnace plant. The highest levels of conjugated 1‐hydroxypyrene in the hepatopancreas were 3.8 pmol/g fresh weight (pyrene‐1‐glucoside) and 2.8 pmol/g fresh weight (pyrene‐1‐sulfate) (expressed on whole‐body basis). The levels of the pyrene metabolites correlate with reported pyrene concentrations in spite of these sites. As pyrene is one of the most predominant PAHs, analysis of its metabolites provides a good tool for environmental risk assessment of ecosystems with regard to PAH exposure, bioavailability, and biotransformation.