2,2-BIS (p-CHLOROPHENYL)-1,1,1-TRICHLOROETHANE (DDT) IN THE TISSUES OF THE RAT FOLLOWING ORAL INGESTION FOR PERIODS OF SIX MONTHS TO TWO YEARS

¹ From the Division of Pharmacology, Food and Drug Administration, Federal Security Agency, Washington, D. C.

Rats were fed diets containing from 100 to 1200 p.p.m. DDT for periods ranging from six months to two years. The following effects were noted.

1. At 800 and 1200 p.p.m. DDT in the diets, rats showed characteristic symptoms of poisoning which terminated fatally in some cases. There was definite depression of growth.

2. At 800 and 1200 p.p.m. DDT in the diets rats showed an increase of 43% and 19% respectively in the weights of their livers and kidneys over those of the controls.

3. At 800 and 1200 p.p.m. DDT in the diets, the oxygen consumption of the livers was reduced 40% below that of the controls.

4. DDT was found in all tissues of animals exposed to DDT. Due apparently to its preferential solubility in fat, the concentration of DDT in perirenal fat was roughly 50 to 100 times as great as in other tissues. With the exception of muscle, it was indicated that the DDT of other tissues could be explained by their fat content.

5. As far as storage is concerned, the rat did not distinguish between p,p and o,p isomers of DDT, but laid these down in the same proportions at which they were fed in the diet.

6. The concentration of DDT in fatty tissue was found to be correlated with the level of DDT in the diet in the range of 100 to 800 p.p.m.

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