Metabolism and excretion of orally administered dimethylarsinic acid in the hamster.

We administered a single po dose of dimethylarsinic acid ( DMAA ) to hamsters by stomach tube and determined the in vivo accumulation of the arsenic and its excretion in the urine and feces. It was shown that a part of the DMAA was further methylated to a trimethylarsenic compound (TMA). During the 24 hr following the administration of DMAA , a total of 80% was excreted in the urine and feces: 45% in the urine (made up of 67.9% DMAA and 32.0% TMA), and 34.7% in the feces (almost completely made up of DMAA but no TMA). The findings show that DMAA and the TMA are rapidly excreted and do not accumulate in the body.