Metabolism of n-Butyl Benzyl Phthalate in the Female Wistar Rat. Identification of New Metabolites

International audience; n-Butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP), a plasticizer used in polyvinylchloride (PVC) and other polymers, has been orally administered to female Wistar rats with four doses (150, 475, 780 and 1500 mg/kg body weight/day) for 3 consecutive days. Metabolites recovered in urines were analysed by gas chromatography±mass spectrometry (GC±MS) after 24, 48 and 72 hours. Six metabolites were identi®ed. Mono-n-butyl phthalate (MBuP) and mono-n-benzyl phthalate (MBeP) represented respectively 29± 34% and 7±12 % of the total recovered metabolites. Hippuric acid, the main metabolite of benzoic acid, represented the second major metabolite (51±56%). Phthalic acid, benzoic acid and an o-ox…