Detoxification effect of iron-encaging zeolite-processed water in tributyltin-intoxicated Euglena gracilis Z

In our previous paper, we reported the restoration promoting effects of mineral-encaging zeolite-processed water, especially of a Fe-encaging one, on tributyltin chloride (TBTCl)-intoxicated Euglena gracilis. This present study extends the investigation on the behavior of TBTCl and a xenobiotic enzyme, cytochrome P-450, in Euglena cells incubated with or without Fe-encaging zeolite-processed water (FeZW). Subcellular fractionation of TBTCl-intoxicated Euglena cells, atomic absorption spectrophotometry, and GC analyses showed that TBTCl was rapidly incorporated into the cells to halt cell motility. GC-MS showed that FeZW promoted conversion of TBTCl to dibutyltin (DBT) as the major metabolite in the microsomal fraction of the cells. An in vitro incubation system with heat-treated microsomes did not convert TBTCl to DBT. The contribution of cytochrome P-450 in the microsomal fraction was suggested by an immunochemical method. The results suggest that the improvement of detoxification by FeZW in the TBT-intoxicated Euglena cells should be due to activation of biotransformation system of the Euglena cells by FeZW.