No effect of route of exposure (oral; subcutaneous injection) on plasma bisphenol A throughout 24h after administration in neonatal female mice.

Route of administration of chemicals in adults is an important factor in pharmacokinetics of chemicals such as bisphenol A (BPA), the monomer with estrogenic activity used to make polycarbonate plastic products and to line food and beverage cans. Based on findings in adults it has been proposed (CERHR, 2007) that non-oral routes of administration in newborn rodents would also lead to high exposure relative to oral administration. However, in fetuses and neonates, the enzyme that conjugates BPA (UDP-glucuronosyltransferase) is expressed at low levels, suggesting that there may be no differences in pharmacokinetics between oral and non-oral dosing. We thus conducted an analysis of plasma concentrations of unconjugated 3H-BPA after HPLC separation in postnatal day 3 female mice throughout the 24h after administering 3H-BPA orally or via subcutaneous injection at doses above and below the current EPA reference dose. We found no significant difference in plasma BPA based on route of administration in neonatal mice at either dose. However, compared to data from other studies conducted with adults, there was a markedly higher plasma BPA level after oral administration of BPA in newborn mice. This finding sets aside the belief that non-oral administration of BPA renders data as not suitable for consideration of the hazard posed by low-dose exposure to BPA during neonatal life. Therefore the large numbers of BPA studies that used non-oral administration at very low doses during the neonatal period should not be dismissed by scientists or the regulatory community based on route of administration.