The fate of sodium chlorite in simulated gastric and intestinal fluids and residues of chlorate in broiler chickens after oral administration of sodium chlorite

ABSTRACT

The fate of sodium [³⁶Cl]chlorite in simulated intestinal fluids and residues of chlorate in broiler chickens fed 0, 10, 100, or 1000 mg•kg⁻¹ of dietary sodium chlorite for 7 days was determined. [³⁶Cl]Chlorite was stable in water and simulated intestinal fluid during 6 h incubations but was rapidly degraded to chlorine dioxide, sodium chloride, and sodium chlorate in simulated gastric fluids. Addition of starch, citrate, or soybean shifted the relative proportions of chloroxyanions formed; addition of ferrous chloride caused quantitative formation of sodium chloride in gastric and intestinal fluids. [³⁶Cl]Chlorite underwent reductive transformation when fortified into chicken serum. Residues of chlorate in broiler chickens ranged from 3.5 to 374 ng•g⁻¹ in gizzard, were <6.8 to 126 ng•g⁻¹ in liver and were <7.2 to 190 ng•g⁻¹ in muscle when slaughtered with no withdrawal period. Data are presented suggesting that reductive processes govern the fate of chlorite when present in closed biological systems.

GRAPHICAL ABSTRACT

KEYWORDS:

• Broiler
• chicken
• chlorite
• chlorate
• chlorine dioxide
• residue

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially supported by Something Good for the Environment under agreement no. 58-3060-8-002