Previous studies have demonstrated that cytochrome P450 2E1 (P450 2E1) catalyzes the oxidation of acetone in vitro. The present study was designed to determine the importance of P450 2E1 in the catabolism of acetone in rats using diallyl sulfide (DAS) as an inhibitor of this enzyme. After a single intragastric dose of DAS, blood samples were collected from rats at different time points, and blood acetone concentrations were measured by gas chromatography. In a low DAS dose (50 mg/kg body weight) group, the maximum acetone level of 6-fold higher than the normal level was reached at 6 hr; the acetone level returned to normal at 48 hr. In a high dose (200 mg/kg) group, the maximum acetone level of 9-fold higher than the normal level was reached at 12 hr; the acetone level returned to normal at 60 hr. The turnover time and fractional turnover rate of elevated acetone were 15.8 +/- 0.5 hr and 0.054 +/- 0.001 hr-1, respectively, for the low dose, and 19.2 +/- 0.6 hr and 0.046 +/- 0.005 hr-1, respectively, for the high dose. In a chronic experiment, DAS (50 and 200 mg/kg, i.g.) was given to rats daily for 29 days, and elevated blood acetone levels were observed during the entire experimental period: 2.0 to 2.8 micrograms/mL for the low dose and 3.4 to 3.9 micrograms/mL for the high dose at 24 hr after the 1st, 7th, 14th and 28th doses versus 0.8 to 0.9 micrograms/mL for the control. The increase of blood acetone level was closely related to the decreases of N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA) demethylase activity and P450 2E1 content in liver microsomes. Consistent with the lack of cumulative effect from the multiple doses of DAS on acetone level, rather stable levels of the DAS metabolites, diallyl sulfoxide (45.0 micrograms/mL, range: 33.8 to 58.6 micrograms/mL) and diallyl sulfone (11.7 micrograms/mL, range: 6.9 to 15.6 micrograms/mL), were observed at 24 hr after the 1st, 7th, 21st and 28th doses with DAS (200 mg/kg) in the chronic experiment. It is likely that the inactivation and inhibition of P450 2E1 by DAS and its metabolites block the oxidation of acetone and cause its elevation in blood. The results strongly suggest an important role of P450 2E1 in acetone catabolism under physiological conditions.