The excretion of chlorophenylmercapturic acid, chlorophenols and a guanine adduct in the urine of chlorobenzene-treated rats after phenobarbital pretreatment.

Chlorobenzene (CB) was administered to male Wistar rats. Twenty-four-hour urine samples were collected over a period of 7 days. p-Chlorophenylmercapturic acid, chlorophenols and a guanine adduct were determined by chromatographic methods. The excretion pattern of p-chlorophenyl-mercapturic acid did not seem to be significantly affected by phenobarbital. To analyze for the chlorophenols and guanine adducts, diluted urine was subjected to cation exchange chromatography using UV-detection. Fractions were found containing chlorophenols and a compound showing chromatographic properties similar to those of the synthetic N7-phenylguanine. The results of the HPLC analyses suggested the presence of a guanine adduct excreted on days 1 and 2 and between days 4 and 6 post-administration. There were no compounds detected which were identical with p-, m- or o-isomers of N7-chlorophenylguanine. The excretion of p- and m-chlorophenols by phenobarbital-pretreated animals was twice as high as that in untreated rats. A 4-fold increase was detected for o-chlorophenol. It is assumed that it is mainly direct hydroxylation that can be induced by phenobarbital. Dehalogenated phenolic metabolites may be capable of covalent binding to DNA.