m-xylene toxicokinetics in phenobarbital-treated rats: comparison among inhalation exposure, oral administration, and...

Rats, pretreated with phenobarbital (PB) for 3 days (80 mg/kg/day), were challenged with m-xylene orally or intraperitoneally at a small (0.01 ml/kg or 0.081 mmol/kg) or a large (0.10 ml/kg or 0.814 mmol/kg) dose, or by 6-hr inhalation exposure at a low (40 ppm) or a high (400 ppm) concentration. The concentrations of m-xylene and its major metabolite, m-methyl hippuric acid (m-MHA), were measured over time in the blood and urine, respectively. PB treatment, which increased the hepatic metabolism of m-xylene in vitro about sixfold, had a significant effect on the metabolism of inhaled m-xylene (decreased blood m-xylene concentration together with increased urinary excretion of m-MHA) only at a high exposure concentration (400 ppm). On the other hand, the enzyme induction had a significant effect on the metabolism of orally administered m-xylene either at a small (0.081 mmol/kg) or a large (0.814 mmol/kg) dose, due to the first-pass metabolism that plays a great role in this route. When m-xylene was administered intraperitoneally, the effect of enzyme induction was shown only at the large dose, a finding which suggests that intraperitoneal administration is more similar to inhalation exposure than oral administration. However, in agreement with oral administration but in contrast to inhalation exposure, PB treatment increased the urinary excretion of m-MHA only shortly after intraperitoneal administration of m-xylene, with no significant increase occurring in the total amount of m-MHA excreted in the urine, despite the great difference in the blood m-xylene concentration between PB-treated and control rats.