Pharmacokinetics of polychlorinated biphenyl components in swine and sheep after a single oral dose.

Single-dose oral administration of a commercial polychlorinated biphenyl product containing 54% chlorine provided data with which to plot the time course of total polychlorinated biphenyl and individual components in the blood of swine and sheep. Pharmacokinetic parameters describing absorption from the gut and elimination from a two-compartment body system were determined for the components in swine and sheep. The absorption half-time for total polychlorinated biphenyl in swine was 1.13 hr while that for sheep was 3.83 hr. The half-time for disposition of total polychlorinated biphenyl from the central compartment was 4.4 hr in swine and 7.7 hr in sheep; the apparent biological half-life was 62.4 hr in swine and 78.8 hr in sheep. Individual components varied significantly from each other and from total polychlorinated biphenyl in all parameters.