[Metabolism of tetrachloroethylene in guinea pigs (author's transl)].

Tetrachloroethylene oxide was chemically prepared from tetrachloroethylene, and the metabolites of the oxide in guinea pigs were analyzed by gaschromatography and Fujiwara reaction. The results obtained are as follows: 1) Trichloroacetic acid appeared in gaschromatogram after injection of tetrachloroethylene oxide, but trichloroethanol did not. 2) The metabolites analyzed by Fujiwara reaction after injection of tetrachloroethylene oxide were composed of large proportion of trichloroacetic acid and small proportion of trichloroethanol. 3) The ratio of trichloroacetic acid to trichloroethanol in the urine in case of tetrachloroethylene oxide was relatively similar to that of tetrachloroethylene. 4) The effects of pH (2.0 and 10.0) and temperature (4 degrees C and 37 degrees C) on the urinary metabolites suggest that the substance equivalent to trichloroethanol by Fujiwara reaction in metabolites may not be a real one. 5) Toxicity of tetrachloroethylene oxide seems to be much higher as compared with that of tetrachloroethylene in consideration of the maximum allowable dose in guinea pigs. 6) It is supposed from our experiments that tetrachloroethylene oxide is an intermediary metabolite of tetrachloroethylene.