Comparative pharmacokinetics of butylated hydroxyanisole and butylated hydroxytoluene in rabbits.

The widespread use of butylated hydroxyanisole (I) and butylated hydroxytoluene (II) as food antioxidants recently has been criticized by the Food and Drug Administration because of their pharmacological and toxicological effects. Interest also has arisen recently in the use of these compounds as anticancer agents. The purposes of this study were to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of I and II in rabbits and to compare their physicochemical properties with their disposition kinetics. It was found that I has a disposition half-life of approximately 1 hr, compared to 11 days for II. These differences are explained in terms of their lipid solubility and protein binding characteristics.