Modulation of brain serotonin by benzyl butyl phthalate in Fundulus heteroclitus (mummichog).

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals have been known to alter important animal behaviors by modulating serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT) and dopamine. F. heteroclitus (mummichog) brain serotonin and dopamine levels were quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) following a 28-day exposure regimen involving daily doses of either 0.1 mg l-1 benzyl butyl phthalate (BBP) dissolved in acetone or acetone alone (0.1 mg l-1). No differences in mean brain mass or total protein homogenate were induced by exposure to the acetone vehicle or BBP in acetone. The acetone vehicle had no effect on dopamine, serotonin, or tyrosine hydroxylase levels, but acetone did decrease tryptophan hydroxylase levels (p = 0.011). Exposure to BBP in acetone decreased dopamine (p = 0.024), increased serotonin (p < 0.001), reduced tryptophan hydroxylase as compared to the acetone vehicle alone (p < 0.001), and had no significant effect on tyrosine hydroxylase levels. This study is the first to report modulation of F. heteroclitus brain serotonin and its enzyme tryptophan hydroxylase following sub-lethal exposure to BBP in an acetone vehicle. In addition, modulation of brain dopamine in F. heteroclitus, sans simultaneous modulation of tyrosine hydroxylase, was also observed. These findings support the use of F. heteroclitus for assessing sub-lethal BBP exposure.

Reduction of pesticide residues on produce by rinsing.

In 1997 this laboratory initiated a research program with the objective of examining the effect that rinsing of produce with tap water would have on pesticide residues. Samples were obtained from local markets and/or grown at our experimental farm. Because approximately 35% of produce from retail sources contains pesticide residues, growing and treating produce at an experimental farm had the advantage that all such samples contain pesticide residues. Pesticides were applied under normal field conditions to a variety of food crops and the vegetation was allowed to undergo natural weathering prior to harvest. The resulting samples contained field-incurred or "field-fortified" residues. This experimental design was employed to mimic as closely as possible real world samples. Crops were treated, harvested, and divided into equal subsamples. One subsample was processed unwashed, whereas the other was rinsed under tap water. The extraction and analysis method used was a multi-residue method developed in our laboratory. Twelve pesticides were included in this study: the fungicides captan, chlorothalonil, iprodione, and vinclozolin; and the insecticides endosulfan, permethrin, methoxychlor, malathion, diazinon, chlorpyrifos, bifenthrin, and DDE (a soil metabolite of DDT). Statistical analysis of the data using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test showed that rinsing removed residues for nine of the twelve pesticides studied. Residues of vinclozolin, bifenthrin, and chlorpyrifos were not reduced. The rinsability of a pesticide is not correlated with its water solubility.

Rapid high-performance liquid chromatography method for the analysis of sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate in foods.

A rapid and reliable method is presented for the determination of the preservatives sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate in fruit juices, sodas, soy sauce, ketchup, peanut butter, cream cheese, and other foods. The procedure utilizes high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) followed by UV diode array detection for identification and quantitation of the two preservatives. Liquid samples were prepared by diluting 1 ml of the sample with 10 ml of an acetonitrile/ammonium acetate buffer solution. Samples of viscous or solid foods were prepared by blending the sample with the same buffer solution in a 1:5 ratio followed by a dilution identical to liquid samples. All samples were filtered to remove particulate matter prior to analysis. The HPLC determination of the preservatives was performed using a reversed-phase C18 column and UV detection at 225 nm for sodium benzoate and 255 nm potassium sorbate. The percentage of preservative in the sample was calculated by external standard using authentic sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate. Apple juice, apple sauce, soy sauce, and peanut butter, spiked at 0.10 and 0.050% for both sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate, yielded recoveries ranging from 82 to 96%. The method can detect 0.0010% (10 mg/l) of either preservative in a juice matrix.

Rapid gas chromatographic method for the multiresidue screening of fruits and vegetables for organochlorine and organophosphate pesticides.

A rapid and reliable method was developed for the determination of pesticides in fruits and vegetables. A 100 g sample is extracted with a mixture of 200 mL petroleum ether and 100 mL 2-propanol. The extract is backwashed 4 times, twice with aqueous sodium sulfate and twice with 350 mL distilled water, and then dried over 15 g sodium sulfate. The dried extract is analyzed by capillary gas chromatography with selective organochlorine and organophosphorus detection. The method determines primarily nonpolar pesticides, with recoveries ranging from 81 to 114%, and has an average limit of detection of 10 ppb for both detectors.

The formation, disposition, and hepatic metabolism of dimethylnitrosamine in the pig.

The disposition, metabolism, and endogenous formation of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) from nitrosatable precursors was studied in the intact pig and in animals with cannulated hepatic and portal veins and catheterized bile ducts. Rates of disappearance of NDMA from peripheral venous and arterial blood after iv injections were virtually identical and the compound appeared in bile after a lag time of about 1 hr, with a subsequent decline in biliary concentration at about the same rate as in circulating blood. Measurements of NDMA in portal and hepatic vein blood after oral doses of 10, 1.0 and 0.1 mg/kg, respectively, showed progressively greater hepatic extraction with levels in the hepatic vein approaching the limits of detection after the lowest dose. Both halothane and ethanol virtually abolished the hepatic extraction of NDMA, presumably due to their known inhibitory action on its metabolism in the liver. Endogenous formation of NDMA and N-nitrosomorpholine after oral doses of the amines plus nitrite was demonstrated by their detection and measurement in the portal vein blood. Morpholine was nitrosated more effectively than dimethylamine and inhibited the nitrosation of the latter when the two amines were given together. NDMA was found in the portal blood after sequential oral administration of aminopyrine and nitrite, the concentration being considerably greater after fasting for 24 hr than after a 2-hr fast when much food was present in the stomach.

Interspecies scaling of the pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine.

The pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine was studied in patas monkeys following i.v. doses of 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mg/kg and a p.o. dose of 1.0 mg/kg, and in Swiss mice at i.v. doses of 1.0 and 2.0 mg/kg. In the patas monkey the pharmacokinetics was linear over the i.v. dose range studied. The mean clearance (Cl), steady-state volume of distribution (Vss), mean residence time, and elimination half-life (t 1/2) were 103.3 +/- 26.7 (SD) ml/min, 3061 +/- 821 ml, 30.8 +/- 10.8 min, and 21.1 +/- 8.5 min, respectively. Assuming that the pharmacokinetics was linear at the p.o. dose used, the p.o. bioavailability of N-nitrosodimethylamine in the monkey was 49%. The pharmacokinetics was also linear in mice, and the average Cl, Vss, mean residence time, and t 1/2 were 3.81 ml/min, 21.0 ml, 5.5 min, and 11.9 min, respectively. These data and data for rats, hamsters, rabbits, dogs, and pigs taken from the literature were used to scale Cl and Vss to body weight using the allometric equation. The resulting equation for Cl was Cl = 49.7B0.998 and the equation for Vss was Vss = 748B1.05 where B is body weight in kg. The fit of the data to the equation was excellent in both cases. Using these equations and assuming a body weight of 70 kg for humans, the Cl and Vss for N-nitrosodimethylamine in humans are estimated to be 3450 ml/min and 64,800 ml, respectively.

Pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine in swine.

The pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) have been studied in swine. They were studied following i.v. administration of 0.1, 0.5 and 1.0 mg/kg, and following oral doses of 1.0 and 5.0 mg/kg of NDMA. Following a bolus i.v. dose, the concentration of NDMA in blood declined biphasically with a mean distribution half-life of 7 min and a mean elimination half-life of 28 min. The areas under the blood concentration versus time curves (AUC) were roughly proportional to dose indicating that the pharmacokinetics in this dose range were first order. The mean systemic clearance from blood was 65.8 ml/min/kg, the steady-state volume of distribution was 1.4 l/kg, and the mean residence time was 20 min. Following the oral doses, the AUC and peak concentration in blood were not proportional to the dose. It is likely that the pharmacokinetics at the lower dose were first order, but at the higher dose the pharmacokinetics were no longer first order because metabolism was saturated. The bioavailability of the 1.0 mg/kg dose was 67%. Since the clearance was probably due to metabolism and the clearance from blood exceeded hepatic blood flow, the high bioavailability suggests that extrahepatic metabolism plays an important role in the systemic clearance of NDMA in swine.

Pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine in beagles.

The pharmacokinetics of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) has been studied in beagles. Four male beagles were given 0.5- and 1.0-mg/kg doses of NDMA i.v. and 1.0- and 5.0-mg/kg doses p.o., and at appropriate times after dosing blood samples were drawn and the concentration of NDMA was measured. The experiments were separated by at least 1 week. Following a bolus i.v. dose, the concentration of NDMA in blood declined biphasically with a mean distribution half-life of 19 min and a mean elimination half-life of 73 min. The areas under the blood concentration versus time curves were proportional to the dose indicating that the pharmacokinetics in this dose range were first order. The mean systemic clearance was 43.3 ml/min/kg, the volume of distribution at steady state was 1.9 liters/kg and the mean residence time was 45 min. The clearance of NDMA in the dog was entirely metabolic because no NDMA could be detected in urine after i.v. dosing. The areas under the curve and maximum concentration in blood after the two p.o. doses were not proportional to dose. The evidence suggests that the pharmacokinetics of the 1.0-mg/kg dose were first order, but at the 5.0-mg/kg dose the metabolism of NDMA was saturated. The bioavailability of the lower p.o. dose (i.e., the fraction of the dose that reached the systemic circulation) averaged 93%. The high bioavailability was unexpected since, in the rat, the bioavailability of NDMA is only about 10%, and the systemic clearance in the dog exceeds hepatic blood flow. These data suggest that a substantial fraction of the systemic clearance is extrahepatic and that the pharmacokinetics of NDMA in higher species may be quite different from that observed in rodents.

The pig as an animal model for the study of nitrosamine metabolism.

Surgical procedures have been developed that permit the sampling of portal blood, bile and hepatic blood in intact pigs. Animals so prepared have been used to study liver metabolism and biliary excretion of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) following oral and intravenous dosing.

Tissue levels and biological effects of N-nitrosodimethylamine in mice during chronic low or high dose exposure with or without ethanol.

In a study of the metabolism, disposition, and hepatotoxicity of the environmental carcinogen N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), as a function of dose in the drinking water and of concomitant administration of ethanol, outbred Swiss mice were given NDMA for 1-4 weeks at levels of 50-0.5 ppm, with or without 10, 20, or 30% ethanol. NDMA, assayed in blood, liver, kidney, lung, and brain by thermal energy analysis after methylene chloride extraction, was detectable (greater than 0.5 ppb) in tissues of the mice after all doses of NDMA. The 0.5-ppm dose yielded tissue levels of NDMA (1-4 ppb) near the detection limit of 0.5 ppb; this was also found to be the minimal concentration causing significant numbers of lung tumors in strain A mice after treatment for 16-18 weeks. Co-administration of ethanol caused an increase in blood and tissue levels of NDMA at all levels of both chemicals, often by a factor of 10 or more. Ethanol also partially alleviated the morphological hepatotoxic effects of NDMA at 50 ppm (centrilobular hemorrhage and necrosis). These results are consistent with competitive inhibition of metabolic activation of NDMA by ethanol. Ten per cent ethanol did not induce liver NDMA demethylase activity significantly and did not prevent loss of this activity from the livers of mice receiving 5-50 ppm NDMA. Thus, inhibition, rather than induction, of NDMA metabolism was the predominant effect of ethanol, with increased levels of NDMA in blood and other tissues as a consequence.

Formation of an N-nitrosamine by oxidation.

Tolazamide, an antidiabetic drug, was found to produce N-nitrosohexamethyleneimine (NHM) upon exposure to an oxidizing agent and in the absence of a nitrosating agent. The oxidizing agents were either hydrogen peroxide or oxygen.

The metabolism of N-nitrosomethylaniline.

The distribution in the body, rate of disappearance from organs, tissues, and blood, and excretion in the urine of N-nitrosomethylaniline (NMA, N-nitrosophenylmethylamine) was investigated after various single doses given IP to rats. The compound was distributed fairly evenly throughout the body with no preferential concentration in the esophagus, its target organ for carcinogenicity. The high lipid solubility of NMA did not lead to any increased accumulation in adipose tissue. According to its rate of disappearance from circulating blood and tissues of rats, and from the whole bodies of mice after injection, NMA appeared to be rapidly metabolized. Methylaniline (MA), the parent amine, was found in the urine after administration of NMA but the amounts present were small relative to the dose of NMA. Administered MA was mainly excreted unchanged in the urine, suggesting that denitrosation of NMA could only be a minor metabolic pathway. No volatile nitrosamines were found in the urine or blood of rats given NMA, indicating that little, if any, transnitrosation could have occurred to yield these compounds.