Abstract
Absorption, excretion, distribution and metabolism of 14C-ring labeled p, p'-DDT in the silkworm, Bombyx mori L., as well as the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana L., were studied. The radioactive DDT, topically applied to silkworm, was rapidly absorbed and widely distributed internally. Of the tissues examined, the fore-gut, the Malpighian tubles, and the gonads contained larger amounts of radioactivity per unit of weight. Thin-layer chromatographic analyses of metabolites of the silkworm treated with radioactive DDT showed that the radioactivity in the tissue and the feces was mainly due to DDT, DDE and two unidentified metabolites. On the other hand, the radioactivity absorbed in the American cockroach which had been treated with radioactive DDT mainly distributed in the oesophagus, crop, gizzard, enteric coecum, and Malpighian tubles. Chromatographic evaluation of both tissue and fecal metabolites of radioactive DDT demonstrated the presence of DDE and at least three unidentified metabolites.
