Study of some biological indices of the state of the sympathoadrenaline system under the effect of polychlorocamphene.

The effect of exposure to different amounts of polychlorocamphene (toxaphene) on the level of cathecholamines (noradrenalin and adrenalin), their precursors (DOPA and dophamine), and a metabolite (vanillylmandelic acid) in tissues (adrenals, brain, heart) and daily urine in white male rats has been studied. It was established that the single administration of 120 mg/kg toxaphene (half the LD50) as well as 2.4 mg/kg (1/100 of LD50) for 1 and 3 months produced a disturbance of catecholamine metabolism. The absolute level of ratio of separate components of the sympathicoadrenalic system is unequally changed in tissues, the breakdown of catecholamines is increased, and the specificity of their excretion is destroyed.