Pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are persistent environmental pollutants. When entering the food chain, they can represent a public health problem due to their negative effects on health. In this study, concentrations of organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), organophosphate pesticides (OPPs), pyrethroids, carbamates, and PCBs—a total 73 compounds—were determined in a total of 2268 samples of fat tissues (beef, pork, sheep, goat, poultry, game, horse, rabbit) and processed fat, meat, and processed meat products collected in Croatia during an 8-year period. In fatty tissues, 787 results exceeded the limits of quantification (LOQ): 16 OCPs, eight OPPs, six pyrethroids, one carbamate, and seven PCBs. The most positive results in fat samples were found for OCPs, with a frequency of quantification in the range of 57.5–87.5%. Hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (DDE) were quantified in the highest percentages, in the ranges of 5.5–66.7% and 5.4–55.8%. Concentrations above the MRL values were determined for chlorpyrifos in pork fat and for resmethrin in six fat samples and one pâté. In 984 samples of meat and meat products, only 62 results exceeded the LOQ values. The highest frequency of quantification was determined for OCPs (25 samples), of which 40% were DDT isomers (60% DDE). Frequency quantifications of PCBs in fat samples were between 7.23 and 36.7%. An evaluation of the health risk assessment showed that the consumption of fat, meat, and meat products does not pose a threat to consumer health, since all EDI values were well below the respective toxicological reference values.

The study examined the antioxidative physiological effects of phenolics from an ethanol-water extract of blackthorn flowers orally administrated to C57/BL6 mice for 28 days in daily doses of 25 mg of total phenolics/kg body weight. Contents of phenolics in the intestine, liver, and kidneys...

Non-planar di- ortho -substituted PCB 153 (2,2’,4,4’,5,5’-hexachlorobiphenyl), one of the most abundant PCB congeners in the environment and in biological and human tissues, has been identified as potential endocrine disruptor affecting the reproductive and endocrine systems in rodents, wildlife, and humans. The aim of this study was to gain a deeper insight into its mode/mechanism of action in Chinese hamster ovary K1 cells (CHO-K1). PCB 153 (10–100 μmol/L) inhibited CHO-K1 cell proliferation, which was confirmed with four bioassays (Trypan Blue, Neutral Red, Kenacid Blue, and MTT), of which the MTT assay proved the most sensitive. PCB 153 also induced ROS formation in a dose-dependent manner. Apoptosis was seen after 6 h of exposure to PCB 153 doses ≥50 μmol/L, while prolonged exposure resulted in the activation of the necrotic pathway. PCB 153-induced disturbances in normal cell cycle progression were time-dependent, with the most significant effects occurring after 72 h.