|
|
Article: Excretion of Methyl Mercury in Human Feces.
- Article from:
- Archives of Environmental Health
- Article date:
- January 1, 2000
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2000 Heldref Publications. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
|
BERLIN[1] reported that methyl mercury (MeHg) is primarily excreted in feces via hepatic bile. Considerable amounts of inorganic mercury (I-Hg) and organic mercury (O-Hg) have been detected in hepatic bile.[2,3] The chemical form of O-Hg in biological specimens is MeHg; chemically, O-Hg is the equivalent of MeHg. Much of MeHg excreted into the duodenum is absorbed in the gut as a result of enterohepatic circulation of MeHg. Inskip and Piotrowski[4] reported that uptake of MeHg from the gastrointestinal tract is approximately 95% in humans. The results of experiments with monkeys, however, indicated that 30-80% of I-Hg in hepatic bile was formed from demethylation of MeHg ...