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

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.