The uptake of tritiated hycanthone by male and female Schistosoma mansoni worms and distribution of the drug in plasma and whole blood of mice following a single intramuscular injection.

Mice infected with Schistosoma mansoni were given an intramuscular injection of a single 80 mg/kg dose of randomly tritiated hycanthone. The uptake of the drug in male and female worms, as well as its concentration in the red blood cells and plasma of the mice, was followed for a period of 24 hours.Blood and plasma drug levels reached maximum values within 30 minutes. During the postmedication period, plasma concentrations were consistently higher than red blood cell concentrations. At 2-6 hours, when blood levels were declining, peak uptake was reached in the female schistosome worms; the concentration in the female worm was 5 times higher than in the male worm. At 24 hours the schistosomes contained appreciably more drug than was present in the blood.