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Updated: Aug 11, 2026

Collection of Alfalfa Root Exudates to Study the Impact of Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate on Metabolite Production
Published on: June 2, 2023
The metabolism of di(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate in the earthworm Lumbricus terrestris
P W Albro1, J T Corbett, J L Schroeder
1Laboratory of Molecular Biophysics, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709.
Abstract:
1. Earthworms can hydrolyze di-(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) to mono-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (MEHP) and phthalic acid (PA). 2. They apparently cannot produce the side-chain-oxidized derivatives of MEHP that constitute the major DEHP metabolites in higher animals. 3. With the assistance of intestinal bacterial Pseudomonas, the worm-derived PA is degraded through protocatechuic and beta-carboxymuconic acids to CO2. 4. There is an indication of a second pathway for degradation of PA leading through benzoic acid.
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