Metabolism and disposition of bisphenol A in female rats

Bisphenol A (BPA), which is used in the manufacture of polycarbonates, elicits weak estrogenic activity in in vitro and in vivo test systems. The objectives of this study were to compare the patterns of disposition of radioactivity in adult female F-344 and CD rats after oral administration of C-14 BPA (100 mg/kg), to isolate the glucuronide of BPA and to assess its estrogenic activity in vitro, and to evaluate the transfer of radioactivity to pups from lactating darns administered C-14 BPA. Over 6 days, F-344 rats excreted more radioactivity in urine than CD rats. The major metabolite in urine was identified as bisphenol A glucuronide (BPA glue) by incubation with p-glucuronidase and H-1 and C-13 NMR spectroscopy. In lactating CD rats administered C-14 BPA (100 mg/kg) by gavage, only a small fraction of the label was found in milk, with 0.95 +/- 0.66, 0.63 +/- 0.13, and 0.26 +/- 0.10 mug equiv/ml (mean +/- SD) from darns collected I, 8, and 26 h after dosing, respectively. Radioactivity in pup carcasses indicated exposure in the range of microgram equivalents per kilogram; those values ranged from 44.3 +/- 24.4 for pups separated from their lactating dams at 2 h to 78.4 +/- 10.9 at 24 h. BPA glue was the prominent metabolite in milk and plasma. In test systems for activation of in vitro estrogen receptors alpha and beta, BPA glue did not show appreciable efficacy at concentrations up to 0.03 mM, indicating that metabolism via glucuronidation is a detoxication reaction. (C) 2000 Academic Press.