Urinary bivalent sulfur metabolites of phenanthrene excreted by the rat and guinea pig.

After the administration of phenanthrene (50 mg/kg, ip) to young adult male rats and guinea pigs, a series of bivalent sulfur urinary metabolites were isolated and characterized by gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Seven methylthio metabolites were isolated from the neutral fraction of hydrolyzed rat urine, whereas only two were detected in guinea pig urine. The major methylthio metabolite excreted by each species was 9-hydroxy-10-methylthio-9, 10-dihydrophenanthrene. This was observed as a second-day metabolite in the rat, and its appearance was accompanied by 9-phenanthrol. In addition to the methylthio compounds, which were excreted predominantly as glucuronides, six acidic bivalent sulfur metabolites were isolated from hydrolyzed rat urine and identified by GC/MS; five were present in hydrolyzed guinea pig urine. The major acidic metabolite in hydrolyzed rat urine was the hydroxydihydromercapturic acid N-acetyl-S-(9-hydroxy-9, 10-dihydro-10-phenanthryl)-L-cysteine. The major acidic metabolite in guinea pig urine was the mercaptoacetic acid S-(9-hydroxy-9, 10-dihydro-10-phenanthryl)mercaptoacetic acid, but the hydroxydihydromercapturic acid was also present.