title: Adrenocortical response to single and repeated doses of chloroform in rats.
abstract: The influence of single and repeated doses of chloroform on the adrenocortical function was studied in young male albino rats. One day after oral administration of a single dose of 1.5 g chloroform/kg body weight, adrenal hypertrophy developed and persisted for at least 12 days. The adrenal cholesterol content started to drop 3 h after the application, remained low for 1 day, then increased and remained elevated during the next 12 days. The plasma corticosterone content increased 15 min after the treatment and remained high during the next 4 h; 6 h after the treatment, when the anesthetic effects of CHCl3 had disappeared, it decreased somewhat; after 12 h it increased again, and the peak value was observed after 1 day. This was followed by a gradual drop, and after 8 days it reached the normal level. A second dose, administered 4 or 8 days after the first one, was still capable of stimulating the adrenocortical function. This was evidenced 24 and 48 h after the second dose. The response, however, was smaller than that observed after a single dose of the same stressor. The influence of a single dose of chloroform on corticosterone decay in the circulation 1 and 9 days after treatment, was tested in adrenalectomized rats injected with non-radioactive corticosterone, and in intact rats injected with 1,2-3H-corticosterone. Results for the adrenalectomized animals were inconclusive, whereas those for the intact ones proved that the treated animals metabolized corticosterone as well as the controls did.
mesh_terms: D000302:Adrenal Cortex / Q000187:drug effects*; D000311:Adrenal Glands / Q000378:metabolism; D000315:Adrenalectomy; D000818:Animals; D002725:Chloroform / Q000633:toxicity*; D002784:Cholesterol / Q000378:metabolism; D003345:Corticosterone / Q000097:blood; D007700:Kinetics; D008297:Male; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D051381:Rats
chemical_list: D002725:Chloroform; D002784:Cholesterol; D003345:Corticosterone