Abstract
Benzophenones absorb UV light and are used to protect material from the effects of sunlight. FDA has approved three of the compounds, including benzophenone-3, for use in sunscreens and other topical preparations. Rats were orally exposed to 100 mg benzophenone-3/kg body weight. Blood, urine, testes, liver, and kidney were extracted and analyzed by high-pressure liquid chromatography to determine the presence of the compound. Calculation of the peak area for spiked samples of body fluids and methanol yielded linear results for concentrations of 6.25 ng/ml to 100 mu g/ml. The compound could be detected in amounts as low as 2.0 ng/ml. The highest blood level of the compound occurred 1 h after administration. In urine, super(>) 14% of the compound was excreted as the glucuronide during the first 12 h after administration. Less than 0.2% was excreted as the free compound during that period.