Metabolism of 2- and 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (2- and 3-BHA) in the rat. (II): Metabolism in forestomach and covalent binding to tissue macromolecules.

The mechanism of action of 2(3)-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (2-BHA or 3-BHA) on rat forestomach epithelium was studied by examining the metabolites of BHA in the stomach and the covalent binding of BHA to macromolecules in the forestomach epithelium. Male F344 rats 6 weeks old were given a single intragastric injection of 1 g/kg body wt of [tert-14C]-3-BHA (Bu-3-BHA) or [methyl-14C]-3-BHA (Me-3-BHA), and 6 h later BHA metabolites in the forestomach, glandular stomach and stomach contents were examined by thin-layer chromatography. No significant amounts of metabolites were detected in the forestomach or glandular stomach epithelium and almost all the radioactivity in these tissues was extracted with organic solvents. In in vitro experiments also, no significant amounts of metabolites were detected when the 9000 g supernatant of the forestomach or glandular stomach epithelium, or gastric juice was incubated with Bu-3-BHA in the absence or presence of NADPH. In binding studies, rats were given Bu-3-BHA, [tert-14C]-2-BHA (Bu-2-BHA), Me-3-BHA or [methyl-14C] butylated hydroxytoluene (Me-BHT) intragastrically at a dose of 1 g/kg body wt with or without pretreatment with unlabelled 1% 3-BHA or BHT in the diet for 6 days. Six hours after treatment with a labelled compound, the rats were sacrificed and the DNA, RNA and protein of their forestomach, glandular stomach, liver and kidney were isolated. Bu-3-BHA, Bu-2-BHA and Me-3-BHA did not bind covalently to forestomach DNA or RNA, and the amounts of radioactivity of these compounds bound to proteins in the 4 tissues were similar. These findings suggest that BHA acts on the forestomach epithelium directly without metabolic activation, and that its action is not related to its binding to DNA or RNA.