Metabolites, blood/urinary

Animals Source Administration Dose mg/kg Blood or Seram or Plasma Metabolites (Concentration) Urinary excretion % Metabolites Time (h) Reference... 

Human exposure to environmental contaminants has been investigated through the analysis of adipose tissue, breast milk, blood and the monitoring of faecal and urinary excretion levels. However, while levels of persistent contaminants in human milk, for example, are extensively monitored, very little is known about foetal exposure to xenobiotics because the concentrations of persistent compounds in blood and trans-placental transmission are less well studied. Also, more information is needed in general about the behaviour of endocrine disruptive compounds (and their metabolites) in vivo, for example the way they bind to blood plasma proteins. 

PBPK models have also been used to explain the rate of excretion of inhaled trichloroethylene and its major metabolites (Bogen 1988 Fisher et al. 1989, 1990, 1991 Ikeda et al. 1972 Ramsey and Anderson 1984 Sato et al. 1977). One model was based on the results of trichloroethylene inhalation studies using volunteers who inhaled 100 ppm trichloroethylene for 4 horns (Sato et al. 1977). The model used first-order kinetics to describe the major metabolic pathways for trichloroethylene in vessel-rich tissues (brain, liver, kidney), low perfused muscle tissue, and poorly perfused fat tissue and assumed that the compartments were at equilibrium. A value of 104 L/hour for whole-body metabolic clearance of trichloroethylene was predicted. Another PBPK model was developed to fit human metabolism data to urinary metabolites measured in chronically exposed workers (Bogen 1988). This model assumed that pulmonary uptake is continuous, so that the alveolar concentration is in equilibrium with that in the blood and all tissue compartments, and was an expansion of a model developed to predict the behavior of styrene (another volatile organic compound) in four tissue groups (Ramsey and Andersen 1984). 

This model accurately predicted the time curves for blood concentration and urinary excretion of metabolites by male volunteers exposed to 100 ppm trichloroethylene (Sato et al. 1991). It was found that, while the amount of metabolite excretion increases with body weight, the concentration does not, because of a corresponding increase in urinary volume. Also, women and obese people, compared with slim men, have lower concentrations but longer residence times of blood trichloroethylene because of their higher fat content (Sato et al. 1991). As a consequence, the model predicted that 16 hours after exposure to trichloroethylene, one could expect a woman s blood level to be 30% higher and an obese man s level to be twofold higher than that of a slim man (Sato 1993). 

The use of the methods for monitoring metabolites of trichloroethylene in blood and urine is, however, rather limited since the levels of TCA in urine have been found to vary widely, even among individuals with equal exposure (Vesterberg and Astrand 1976). Moreover, exposure to other chlorinated hydrocarbons such as tetrachloroethane, tetrachloroethylene, and 1,1,1-trichloroethane would also be reflected in an increase in urinary excretion of TCA. In addition, there may be sex differences regarding the excretion of trichloroethylene metabolites in urine since one experiment shows that men secrete more trichloroethanol than women (Inoue et al. 1989). The use of the level of trichloroethylene adduction to blood proteins as a quantitative measure of exposure is also possible, although obtaining accurate results may be complicated by the fact that several metabolites of trichloroethylene may also form adducts (Stevens et al. 1992). 

Applicators, mixers, loaders, and others who mix, spray, or apply pesticides to crops face potential dermal and/or inhalation exposure when handling bulk quantities of the formulated active ingredients. Although the exposure periods are short and occur only a few times annually, an estimate of this exposure can be obtained by quantifying the excreted polar urinary metabolites. Atrazine is the most studied triazine for potential human exposure purposes, and, therefore, most of the reported methods address the determination of atrazine or atrazine and its metabolites in urine. To a lesser extent, methods are also reported for the analysis of atrazine in blood plasma and serum. 

Organophosphate Ester Hydraulic Fluid. Analyses of blood or urine for the presence of organophosphates or their metabolites can be valuable in confirming exposure to organophosphate ester hydraulic fluids however, sample collections must be completed during or shortly after exposure unless exposure levels are very high. Urinary excretion of metabolites can be completed within a few days of exposure, depending on the level of exposure. 

Ohzawa et al. [113] studied the absorption, excretion, and metabolism of miconazole after a single oral administration of 14C miconazole at a dose of 10 mg/kg to male dogs. After administration of 14C miconazole, the blood concentration of radioactivity reached the maximum level at 4 h, and then declined slowly with a half-life of about 26 h. The plasma concentration reached the maximum level at 5 h and then declined slowly with a half-life of 30 h. After the administration of miconazole, the plasma concentration of the unchanged form reached the maximum level at 3 h and then rapidly declined with half-life of about 4.3 h. Within 168 h after administration of 14C miconazole, urinary and fecal excretion amounted to about 6% and 66% of the administration radioactivity, respectively. After administration of 14C miconazole, the plasma concentration of the unchanged form rapidly declined, but the plasma level of two major metabolites reached maximum at 5 and 12 h, respectively and then declined. 

Urinary excretion patterns of thiocyanate suggest that there are quantitative species differences in acrylonitrile metabolism (Ahmed and Patel 1981). Thiocyanate was identified as a metabolite in rats, mice, rabbits and Chinese hamsters. About 20 to 23% of the administered dose was excreted as thiocyanate in rats, rabbits and Chinese hamsters, while 35% was excreted as thiocyanate in mice (Gut et al. 1975). It has also been observed that mice metabolize acrylonitrile more rapidly than rats (Ahmed and Patel 1981 Gut et al. 1975). Maximum blood cyanide concentrations were observed 1 hour after dosing in mice, but 3 hours after dosing in rats (Ahmed and Patel 1981). In mice, thiocyanate was present in the urine within 4 hours of dosing, while in rats, thiocyanate was present in urine only at time intervals longer than 4 hours (Gut et al. 1975). 

Determination in Biological Fluids and Tissues All the advances in pharmacokinetics and drug metabolism described in Sections 7 and 8 would not have been possible without the availability of the proper analytical methods. The following is a tabulation of publications in this field, most of which have already been discussed in Section 5. It should be mentioned that a few publications talk about aspirin blood levels, but really mean salicylate levels. The following tabulation covers only those papers where aspirin was differentiated from other salicylates by chromatography or other means. It seems that the "workhorse" for serum salicylate levels is still the colorimetric (ferric-nitrate) method of Brodie, Udenfriend and Coburn153 published in 1944, or modifications thereof. Simplified versions (cf. 206) may lead to erroneous results under certain conditions.207 The method is also applicable for urinary metabolites after proper hydrolysis (cf. 208). For other methods restricted to salicylic acid, see Section 5.61. 

Exposure. Measurement of endrin and its metabolites can be useful indicators of exposure. Since endrin is cleared from the blood rapidly, such measurements are suitable only for recent exposures. Additional studies are needed to determine the usefulness of metabolites in urine as biomarkers of exposure in humans. A quantitative relationship between the urinary concentration of anti-12-hydroxyendrin and the dose of endrin should be clarified. 

Levels of cyanide and its metabolite thiocyanate in blood serum and plasma, urine, and saliva have been used as indicators of cyanide exposure in humans, particularly in workers at risk of occupational exposures, in smokers or nonsmokers exposed to sidestream or environmental tobacco smoke, in populations exposed to high dietary levels of cyanide, and in other populations with potentially high exposures (see Section 5.6). The correlation between increased cyanide exposure and urinary thiocyanate levels was demonstrated in workers exposed to 6.4-10.3 ppm cyanide in air (El Ghawabi et al. 1975). In another study, blood cyanide concentrations were found to vary from 0.54 to 28.4 pg/100 mL in workers exposed to approximately 0.2-0.8 ppm cyanide in air, and from 0.0 to 14.0 pg/100 mL in control workers... 

Urine catecholamines may also serve as biomarkers of disulfoton exposure. No human data are available to support this, but limited animal data provide some evidence of this. Disulfoton exposure caused a 173% and 313% increase in urinary noradrenaline and adrenaline levels in female rats, respectively, within 72 hours of exposure (Brzezinski 1969). The major metabolite of catecholamine metabolism, HMMA, was also detected in the urine from rats given acute doses of disulfoton (Wysocka-Paruszewska 1971). Because organophosphates other than disulfoton can cause an accumulation of acetylcholine at nerve synapses, these chemical compounds may also cause a release of catecholamines from the adrenals and the nervous system. In addition, increased blood and urine catecholamines can be associated with overstimulation of the adrenal medulla and/or the sympathetic neurons by excitement/stress or sympathomimetic drugs, and other chemical compounds such as reserpine, carbon tetrachloride, carbon disulfide, DDT, and monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAO) inhibitors (Brzezinski 1969). For these reasons, a change in catecholamine levels is not a specific indicator of disulfoton exposure. 

As blood moves through the kidneys, chemicals and their metabolites can be filtered out or otherwise lost from the blood by a set of extraordinary physiological mechanisms that release them into urine. Urinary excretion is probably the pathway out of the body for most chemicals. 

The primary endpoint of the toxicokinetic studies is the concentration-time prohle of the substance in plasma/blood and other biological fluids as well as in tissues. The excretion rate over time and the amount of metabolites in urine and bile are further possible primary endpoints of kinetic studies, sometimes providing information on the mass balance of the compound. From the primary data, clearance and half-life can be derived by several methods. From the excretion rate over time and from cumulative urinary excretion data and plasma/blood concentration measured during the sampling period, renal clearance can be calculated. The same is the case for the bUiary excretion. 

In humans, an oral dose of 3-5mg/kg is usually fatal. In a study of 115 workers exposed to parathion under varying conditions, the majority excreted significant amounts of p-nitrophenol (a metabolite of parathion) in the urine, whereas only those with heavier exposures had a measurable decrease in blood cholinesterase. Measurement of urinary p-nitrophenol can be useful in assessing parathion absorption in occupational or other settings. ... 

Procarbazine is rapidly absorbed after oral administration and has a plasma half-life of only 10 minutes. The drug crosses the blood-brain barrier, reaching levels in CSF equal to those obtained in plasma. Metabolism is extensive and complex. Urinary excretion accounts for 70% of the procarbazine and its metabolites lost during the first 24 hours after drug administration. 

In humans, only the jV-desethyl metabolite is detected in whole blood, although trace amounts of the other two metabolites are found in urine. All three of the above exhibit binding to carbonic anhydrase and prolonged half-lives in whole blood. In rats, a carboxylic acid metabolite formed by oxidation of the O-desmethyl analog is the predominant urinary metabolite. Small amounts of this compound are also found in human urine. 

Pharmacokinetics Poorly absorbed systemically, but excellent epidermal absorption. Auto-oxidized to inactive metabolites - danthrone and dianthrone. Rapid urinary excretion, so significant levels do not accumulate in the blood or other tissues. Half4ife 6 hr. 

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