The effect of tetrachlorohydroquinone on hexachlorobenzene‐induced porphyria in Japanese quail

Abstract

Female Japanese quail received either hexachlorobenzene (HCB, 100 mg/kg·d) or tetra‐chlorohydroquinone (TCHQ, 175 mg/kg·d) for 10 d as a primary treatment. Following this, a secondary treatment of HCB (100 mg/kg·d) or TCHQ (175 mg/kg·d), alone or in combination, was administered for 1, 5, 10 or 15 d. The primary HCB treatment caused elevated δ‐aminolevulinic acid synthetase (ALA‐S) activities and small increases in porphyrin concentrations. Subsequent treatment of these birds with lactose resulted in no further increases in porphyrins or ALAS. TCHQ treatment caused increases in porphyrins similar to those seen with continued HCB treatment. Apparently, despite the fact that TCHQ alone had no affect on ALA‐S or porphyrin levels, this compound is able, in the presence of elevated ALA levels to cause porphyria. A combination of HCB and TCHQ administered to HCB‐pretreated animals caused a more severe porphyria than did follow‐up treatment with either HCB or TCHQ alone.