[Residue level of HCHs in chicken]

The concentrations of hexachlorocyclohexane isomers (HCHs) in muscle, skin, liver, stomach, heart, eggs, feed and feces of chicken from a poultry farm were determined by GC-ECD. The residue level of total HCHs (SigmaHCHs) in muscle, skin, liver, stomach and heart were (0.35 +/- 0.37), (3.91 +/- 2.52), (1.78 +/- 1.26), (1.00 +/- 0.85), (1.35 +/- 0.75) ng/g (wet weight), while the lipid normalized concentrations were (64.3 +/- 171), (19.6 +/- 7.33), (64.9 +/- 27.2), (74.5 +/- 74.1), (17.8 +/- 4.42) ng/g, respectively,which are far lower than the Maximum Residue Limits for Food in China. Among all tissue samples, the highest lipid-normalized concentration was observed in the liver and no significant differences were observed among other organs. delta-HCH was the predominant isomer in chicken feed, stomach and faces, while beta-HCH owned the highest concentration in all other samples. beta-HCH was enriched in muscle, skin, liver, stomach and heart, while alpha-HCH and delta-HCH were also enriched in liver. Significant difference was revealed between male and female chicken in terms of bioaccumulation, indicating higher bioaccumulation ability of the former.