The Metabolism of Thiophen in the Rabbit and the Rat

Abstract

1. In the rat thiophen (200-300 mg/kg), administered by stomach tube, was partly excreted unchanged in expired air (32%) and in faeces (< 1%) and partly (40%) in the urine as two mercapturic acids. Rabbits (150-225 mg/kg) excreted 38% as the same two mercapturic acids.

2. The mercapturic acid excreted in small quantities was shown to be 2-thienylmercapturic acid.

3. The other mercapturic acid was concluded on the basis of mass spectrometric measurements, infra-red spectroscopy and chemical properties to be a premercapturic acid, viz. 3-hydroxy-2,3-dihydro-2-thienylmercapturic acid.