Inhalation pharmacokinetics based on gas uptake studies. IV. The endogenous production of volatile compounds.

A pharmacokinetic description of production, distribution and metabolism of endogenous volatile compounds is presented. This description uses the "gas uptake model" of a closed recirculated atmosphere in which experimental animals are exposed. As an example, the production rates of acetone, under different conditions of stimulation by xenobiotics, are calculated from published experimental data. The theoretical descriptions may serve as a basis for treating the problem of hydrocarbon exhalation in toxicological experiments with compounds eliciting lipid peroxidation.