THE ABSORPTION, DISTRIBUTION AND URINARY EXCRETION OF MESCALINE IN THE DOG

¹ Department of Pharmacology, University of Michigan Medical School, Ann Arbor, Michigan

1. The plasma levels of mescaline in dog plasma have been determined following intravenous, intramuscular, and oral administration of 20 mgm./kgm. of mescaline sulfate. The decay curves follow the characteristic slope usually related to differences in the route of administration. The intensity of the signs of the pharmacological action of mescaline parallels the plasma levels.

2. Renal elimination of unaltered mescaline in the dog accounts for 28 to 46 per cent of an administered dose, the larger portion of the eliminated fraction being excreted within four and one-half hours and the remainder within twenty-four hours. Only traces of 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetic acid could be detected in the urine.

3. During the first four hours after intravenous administration the concentration of mescaline in the kidney, liver, or spleen is three to six fold higher than in plasma or brain.