RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Determination of Trimethylbismuth in the Human Body after Ingestion of Colloidal Bismuth Subcitrate
JF Drug Metabolism and Disposition
JO Drug Metab Dispos
FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
SP 352
OP 358
DO 10.1124/dmd.107.020313
VO 37
IS 2
A1 Jens Boertz
A1 Louise Michele Hartmann
A1 Margareta Sulkowski
A1 Joerg Hippler
A1 Frank Mosel
A1 Roland Arturo Diaz-Bone
A1 Klaus Michalke
A1 Albert Wolfgang Rettenmeier
A1 Alfred Vitalis Hirner
YR 2009
UL http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/37/2/352.abstract
AB Biological methylation and hydride formation of metals and metalloids are ubiquitous environmental processes that can lead to the formation of chemical species with significantly increased mobility and toxicity. Whereas much is known about the interaction of metal(loid)s with microorganisms in environmental settings, little information has been gathered on respective processes inside the human body as yet. Here, we studied the biotransformation and excretion of bismuth after ingestion of colloidal bismuth subcitrate (215 mg of bismuth) to 20 male human volunteers. Bismuth absorption in the stomach and upper intestine was very low, as evidenced by the small quantity of bismuth eliminated via the renal route. Total bismuth concentrations in blood increased rapidly in the first hour after ingestion. Most of the ingested bismuth was excreted via feces during the study period. Trace levels of the metabolite trimethylbismuth [(CH3)3Bi] were detected via low temperaturegas chromatography/inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry in blood samples and in exhaled air samples. Concentrations were in the range of up to 2.50 pg/ml (blood) and 0.8 to 458 ng/m3 (exhaled air), with high interindividual variation being observed. Elimination routes of bismuth were exhaled air (up to 0.03‰), urine (0.03–1.2%), and feces. The site of (CH3)3Bi production could not be identified in the present study, but the intestinal microflora seems to be involved in this biotransformation if accompanying ex vivo studies are taken into consideration. The American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics