ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINANTS ENCYCLOPEDIA ...

Foreign Compounds. Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1968. 92].
In the presence of glutathione and glutathione
transferases, microsomal fractions prepared from fresh
samples of human lung tissue obtained at resection
metabolized naphthalene to naphthalene dihydrodiol and 3
glutathione conjugates at easily measurable rates.
Addition of varying amounts of human lung microsomal
protein markedly inhibited mouse liver microsomecatalyzed
naphthalene metabolism in one sample but not
the other. These studies suggest that there may be an
inhibitor, potential released during tissue
homogenization, that makes measurement of human lung
xenobiotic metabolism difficult. [Buckpitt AR, Bahnson
LS; Toxicology 41 (3): 333-41 (1986)].
In an experimental animal study, doses of naphthalene
ranging from 1 ug to 1 g were administered in the feed to
3 young pigs and their urine was collected in 2
sequential 24 hr specimen. The major urinary metabolite,
conjugated 1-naphthol, was separated by gas
chromatography and detected by electron capture. Most 1naphthol
excretion occurred during the first 24-hr period
following dosing. Metabolic 1-naphthol could be detected
after administration of as little as 100 ug naphthalene.
A linear relationship was observed between urinary 1naphthol
and oral dose (both expressed on the log scale)
in 24-hr specimen (r squared = 0.961, p