title: [Effects of garlic oil on n-hexane metabolized to 2, 5-hexanedione in mice serum].
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the effects of garlic oil (GO) on n-hexane metabolized to 2, 5-hexanedione (2, 5-HD) in mice.
  
  
  METHODS
  Adult healthy Kunming-mice were treated with n-hexane and GO. The serum was obtained and extracted with ethyl acetate, and the levels of the serum 2, 5-HD were determined by gas chromatography.
  
  
  RESULTS
  (1) The concentration of 2, 5-HD in serum increased firstly after a single exposure to n-hexane (4 000 mg/kg). The peak value occurred at 10 hours after n-hexane treatment, but could hardly be detected at 20 h. (2) There was no 2, 5-HD in serum of control mice. The content of 2, 5-HD in serum increased along with the exposure dose of n-hexane. The serum 2, 5-HD contents of the 2000, 4000 and 6000 mg/kg groups mice were 8.04, 16.68 and 22.38 microg/ml at 8 h in pretreated mice, respectively, and showed significant dose-effect relationship. (3) When the different age mice were exposed to the same dose of n-hexane, the contents of 2, 5-HD in serum were significantly different after 8 hours (P<0.05). The serum 2, 5-HD level of the 5 weeks old mice (22.83 microg/ml) was much higher than the 4 (19.59 microg/ml) and 6 (16.42 microg/ml) weeks old mice. (4) When the different gender mice were exposed to the same dose of n-hexane, the concentration of 2, 5-HD in serum of female mice (13.22 microg/ml) was higher than that of the female mice (10.34 microg/ml, P<0.05). (5) GO significantly inhibited the increase of the serum 2, 5-HD levels of both the pretreatment and post-treatment groups treated with 80 mg/kg n-hexane respectively, but the pretreatment with GO exhibited the more suppressive effects than the post-treatment (P>0.05). Compared with the n-hexane group, the concentrations of serum 2, 5-HD in GO-pretreated groups mice decreased by 16.2%, 20.8%, 22.8% (P<0.05) and 32.1% (P<0.01), respectively, and showed significant dose-effect relationship.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The serum content of 2, 5-HD, the metabolite of n-hexane, is different in different genders and age mice after exposed to the same dose of n-hexane. GO can effectively inhibit the production of n-hexane metabolized to 2, 5-HD in mice serum.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Toxicology, School of Public Health, Shandong University, Jinan, Shandong 250012, China.
authors.forename: Xu-cong
authors.initials: XC
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.forename: Hong-yin
authors.initials: HY
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.forename: Cui-li
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Zhen-ping
authors.initials: ZP
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: Li-hua
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.forename: Ke-qin
authors.initials: KQ
authors.lastname: Xie
mesh_terms: D000498:Allyl Compounds / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D001711:Biotransformation / Q000187:drug effects; D005260:Female; D006586:Hexanes / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D006588:Hexanones / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D013440:Sulfides / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000498:Allyl Compounds; D006586:Hexanes; D006588:Hexanones; D013440:Sulfides; C026385:n-hexane; C038491:allyl sulfide; C011269:2,5-hexanedione