Dermal pharmacokinetics of the insecticide furathiocarb in rats

The pharmacokinetics of furathiocarb were studied in vivo in male Sprague-Dawley rats following dermal treatment. HPLC and post-column derivatization were used for the analysis of furathiocarb and its metabolites (carbofuran, 3-hydroxycarbofuran and 3-ketocarbofuran). Carbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran were detected in plasma and urine rather than furathiocarb. 3-Ketocarbofuran, another potential metabolite, was not observed in any sample. The concentration of carbofuran was higher than that of 3-hydroxycarbofuran in plasma, but the reverse was the case in urine The corresponding area under the plasma concentration-time curve, T_max, and C_max values of carbofuran and 3-hydroxycarbofuran for 1500mgkg^-1 doses were 2.4-8.0mg equiv hml^-1, 12h and 0.1-0.4mg equiv ml^-1, respectively. T_1/2 was calculated only for 3-hydroxycarbofuran (28h). Two metabolites were excreted in a dose-dependent manner without saturation.