The metabolism of biphenyl. V. Phenolic metabolites in some marine organisms

The phenolic metabolites of biphenyl in the crustacean Cirolana borealis LILJEBORG (ISOPODA), the gastropod Buccinum undatum L and the ophiuroid Ophiocomina nigra ABILDGAARD have been analysed qualitatively and semi-quantitatively as trimethylsilyl (TMS) ethers by combined gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and gas chromatography, respectively. The findings demonstrate the in vivo metabolic capacity of these organisms to convert biphenyl into its hydroxylated derivatives. Thus, 2-hydroxybiphenyl is the most prominent metabolite detected in all these experiments, which also showed that minor amounts of the 4-hydroxy and 4,4'-dihydroxy metabolites are formed. Metabolites of biphenyl origin are found both in the sea water from the aquaria and in the tissue of the respective marine organisms. The experiments, moreover, indicate a slow metabolism of biphenyl in C. borealis, B. undatum and O. nigra, between which no qualitative metabolic differences are found.