The Distribution of 14C–Chloramphenicol in the Japanese Quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica)

Abstract: The distribution of ¹⁴C–labelled chloramphenicol after oral and intravenous administration to egg laying Japanese quail was studied by whole–body autoradiography. In the liver, kidneys, gizzard, intestinal contents (bile) and oviduct, the ¹⁴C–concentration was higher than that of the blood short time after injection and remained higher than the blood up to 4 days. From 4 hrs, the concentration of ¹⁴C in the egg yolks was higher than that of the blood and from 24 hrs the radioactivity in the albumen of the eggs in the oviduct was also higher than that of the blood. The peak concentration in the egg yolk was found in the second egg laid 2–4 days after administration of ¹⁴C–chloramphenicol. In the albumen the maximum concentration was found in the first laid egg 24–48 hrs after administration. In the egg yolks, about 30% of the radioactivity represented unchanged chloramphenicol up to 5 days after administration. It was also shown that about 5% of the injected ¹⁴C–chloramphenicol was exhaled as ¹⁴CO₂ during the first 12 hrs and about 37% of the dose was excreted in the combined faeces and urine during the same period of time