Demethylation and excretion of methyl mercury by the guinea pig |
| |
Authors: | E Komsta-Szumska M Czuba KR Reuhl DR Miller |
| |
Institution: | Ecotoxicology Group, Division of Biological Sciences, National Research Council, Ottawa, Canada K1A OR6 |
| |
Abstract: | Female guinea pigs were dosed po with 1.0 mg CH3203Hg/kg as methylmercuric chloride, 10 times over a 3-week period. Tissue distribution, excretion, and accumulation of inorganic and organic mercury were studied. The highest concentration of mercury was found in the kidney. The greatest decreases of mercury levels were observed in the small bowel, red blood cells, liver, and cerebrum. The half-life of whole body clearance, based on a single compartment model, was 31.6 days. Mercury in the kidney, liver, and cerebrum was bound mainly by nuclear and soluble fractions. The highest ratio of inorganic to total mercury was seen in the kidney, 60% of this being as inorganic mercury. Excretion of mercury in the feces was measured throughout the experiment. The relationship of organic to inorganic mercury was relatively constant at about 1:3. Data on the effects of methyl mercury on tissue concentrations of zinc and copper show that the only change in the copper content was a marked increase in the kidney. |
| |
Keywords: | |
本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录! |
|