Quantitative evaluation of the metabolic formation of methylhydrazine from acetaldehyde-N-methyl-N-formylhydrazone,the main poisonous compound of Gyromitra esculenta

The amounts of methylhydrazine in the peritoneal fluids of mice treated orally with acetaldehyde-N-methyl-N-formylhydrazone, the main poisonous compound of the mushroom Gyromitra esculenta Fr. ex. Pers., were determined in order to estimate quantitatively the metabolic formation of methylhydrazine from this compound. For the experiments 2.0 ml of saline was injected into the peritoneal cavities of experimental animals immediately after the dosing. The animals were sacrificed at different time points and their peritoneal cavities flushed with saline. From this fluid methylhydrazine was determined as benzaldehyde-N-methylhydrazone by gas liquid chromatography. For comparison, an identical test procedure was carried out on mice treated orally with methylhydrazine. The results indicate that more than 25%, or a toxicologically significant amount of acetaldehyde-N-methyl-N-formylhydrazone is metabolically hydrolysed to methylhydrazine.