title: Whole-body metabolism of the organophosphorus pesticide, fenthion, in goldfish, Carassius auratus.
abstract: The in vivo metabolism of fenthion, an organophosphorus pesticide, and its sulfoxide (fenthion sulfoxide) was examined in goldfish (Carassius auratus). When goldfish were administered fenthion i.p. at a dose of 100 mg/kg, two metabolites were isolated from the tank water. They were identified as fenthion sulfoxide and fenthion oxon, in which > P = S of fenthion is transformed to > P = O, by comparing their mass and UV spectra, and their behavior in HPLC and TLC, with those of authentic standards. However, fenthion sulfone was not detected as a metabolite. The amounts of fenthion, fenthion sulfoxide and fenthion oxon excreted within 4 days were 2.7, 3.4 and 2.5%, of the initial dose of fenthion, respectively. Unchanged fenthion was detected in the body of the fish to the extent of 42-50% of the dose after 10 days, but fenthion sulfoxide and fenthion oxon showed very low concentrations. When fenthion sulfoxide was administered to the fish, about 70% of the dose was excreted unchanged into the tank water within 24 h, but little of the reduced compound, fenthion, was found. In contrast, fenthion was detected at 2.1% of dose in the body of goldfish as a metabolite of fenthion sulfoxide. The fact that fenthion is metabolized to the toxic oxon form in fish presumably has environmental and health implication for its use as a pesticide.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Hiroshima University School of Medicine, Japan. kitamura@pharm.hiroshima-u.ac.jp
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kitamura
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kadota
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Yoshida
authors.forename: N
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jinno
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Ohta
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005284:Fenthion / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D006054:Goldfish / Q000378:metabolism*; D007306:Insecticides / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000633:toxicity; D013454:Sulfoxides / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D007306:Insecticides; D013454:Sulfoxides; D005284:Fenthion