Mixed function oxidase activity and cytochrome P-450 forms in black-headed gulls feeding in different areas

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the mixed function oxidase (MFO) system and the forms of supposed cytochrome P-450 in the liver of black-headed gulls (Larus ridibundus) feeding in a lagoon and on a garbage dump. Tissue levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were also determined. Ethoxyresorufin 10-deethylase (EROD) and aldrin epoxidase activities were higher in the dump gulls than in the lagoon gulls. A marked thickening of the proteins in the cytochrome P-450 area, particularly of P-450c and P-450d, was also found in the dump gulls. No relationship was found between MFO activity and tissue chlorinated hydrocarbon levels.