Evaluation of a rat model versus a physiologically based extraction test for assessing phenanthrene bioavailability from soils

The soil matrix can impact the bioavailability of soil-bound organic chemicals, and this impact is governed in part by soil properties such as organic carbon (OC) content, clay minerals, and pH. Recently, a physiologically based extraction test (PBET) was developed to predict the bioavailability of soil-bound organic chemicals. In the current study, the bioavailability of phenanthrene (PA) from laboratory-treated soils varying in OC content, clay, and pH was investigated using an in vivo rat model and an in vitro PBET. The relationship between these two approaches was also examined. In the in vivo assay, soils and corn oil containing equivalent levels of PA were administered to Sprague-Dawley rats by gavage at two dose levels: 400 and 800 mg/kg body weight. Equivalent doses were given via intravenous injection (iv). The areas under the blood concentration-versus-time curves (AUC) were measured, and the absolute and relative bioavailabilities of PA were determined for each soil. In the PBET tests, one g of each soil was extracted by artificial saliva, gastric juice, duodenum juice, and bile. The fraction of PA mobilized from each soil was quantified. The AUCs of PA in all soils were significantly lower than those following iv injection (p < 0.05), indicating that the soil matrix could reduce the bioavailability of PA from soil. There were obvious trends of soils with higher OC content and clay content, resulting in the lower bioavailability of PA from soil. A significant correlation (p < 0.05) was observed between the fraction of PA mobilized from soil in the PBET and its in vivo bioavailability. The data also showed that the absolute bioavailability of PA from corn oil was low: approximately 25%. These results suggest that PBET assay might be a useful alternative in predicting bioavailability of soil-bound organic chemicals. However, due to the limited soil types and use of one chemical vs. a variety of contaminants and soil properties in the environment, further efforts involving more chemicals and soil types are needed to validate this surrogate method.