Disposition of 3,3′-dichlorobenzidine in the rat

The disposition of the carcinogen 3,3′-dichlorobenzidine (DCB) was studied in the male rat following oral administration. [¹⁴C]DCB was well absorbed by the rat with the maximum plasma radioactivity levels being found within 8 hr after dosing. The radioactivity was well distributed in the tissues 24 hr after administration with the highest levels found in the liver, followed by kidney, lung, and spleen. Repeated administration (six doses) of [¹⁴C]DCB to animals did not result in a substantial accumulation of ¹⁴C in the tissues. The elimination of radioactivity from the plasma, liver, kidney, and lung was biphasic showing an initial rapid decline (half-lives 1.68, 5.78, 7.14, and 3.85 hr, respectively) followed by a slower disappearance phase (half-lives 33.0, 77.0, 138.6, and 43.3 hr, respectively). Approximately half of the total ¹⁴C in the liver and kidney was covalently bound to cellular macromolecules 72 hr after dosing. [¹⁴C]DCB-derived radioactivity was extensively excreted by rats, mainly via the feces. Approximately 23-33% of the administered dose was recovered in the urine and 58-72% in the feces of rats within 96 hr. More than 65% of the administered ¹⁴C was eliminated in the bile of bile duct-cannulated rats within 24 hr after dosing. The radioactivity excreted in the urine and bile was primarily in the form of free (urine 71.2%, bile 25.5%) and conjugated (urine 19.6%, bile 57.9%) metabolites of DCB. Thus DCB is readily absorbed following oral administration, and then metabolized and excreted mainly via the feces.