Transmission of radioactivity into eggs from laying hens (Gallus domesticus) administered tritium labeled T-2 toxin

The transmission of radioactivity into eggs from laying hens gastric-intubated with a single or multiple dose of 3-[3H]-T-2 toxin was investigated. In single dosed birds, the maximum radioactivity in eggs occurred at 24 hr after dosing; the yolk and white contained .04 and .13% of the administered radioactivity, respectively. In multiple-dosed birds given 8 consecutive daily doses, the radioactivity in the yolk increased with each dose, whereas the radioactivity in the white increased rapidly until the 3rd dose and thereafter remained constant. In both single- and multiple-dosed birds, the specific radioactivity of the white was greater than that of the yolk. The amount of residue transmitted into an egg in birds intubated daily with 1 mg T-2/kg for 8-consecutive days equivalent to 1.6 ppm dietary T-2) was about .9 microgram (based on specific radioactivity).