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Abstract
Intracerebral injection of CH 3 Hg and CH 3 Hg complexed with glutathione (CSH), cys‐teine (cys), cysteinylglycine (cys‐gly), and homocysteine (homocys) resulted in differences in toxicity. Criteria based on neurological indices, mortality, and weight loss indicated that the cys‐gly complex of CH 3 Hg was significantly less toxic than CH 3 Hg or the other complexes. The other complexes of CH 3 Hg (CSH, homocys, and cys) were also found to be less toxic than CH 3 Hg. The selenium status of the animal did not seem to significantly influence the toxicity of CH 3 Hg and the complexes. While CH 3 Hg complexed to cys‐gly was significantly less toxic than CH 3 Hg alone, there were no differences observed in the CH 3 Hg half‐life values or in the distribution of these compounds in the kidneys, brain, liver, and blood. It was observed, however, that the CH 3 Hg‐cys‐gly complex had higher fecal excretion on d 3 and 4 following intracerebral injection.