Metabolism of Naphthalene in Adult and Growing Dogs*

Bouchard and Charrin (1) have observed that the repeated administration of naphthalene to rabbits causes the formation of cataracts. Lesnick (2) has been able to isolate cr-naphthylglycuronate from the urine of dogs which were fed naphthalene. Edelfsen (3) and Igersheimer and Ruben (4) have confirmed the observation of Lesnick (2) by applying color reactions to the urine of dogs which were fed naphthalene. Adams (5) has found that, histologically, naphthalene cataracts of the rabbit resemble human senile cataract. Baumann (6) has suggested that the monohalogen naphthalenes yield, probably, a mercapturic acid in the dog. Tsuji (7) began a systematic study of the origin of naphthalene cataracts in rabbits, and he has found that on feeding naphthalene to rabbits, the free cysteine and ‘(bound cysteine” of the eye lens proteins diminish markedly. Nakashima (8) has continued the work of Tsuji. In a rather comprehensive study of metabolism of naphthalene in rabbits, Nakashima has demonstrated that feeding of naphthalene to rabbits yields an ethereal sulfate in the urine and a substance which is excreted in the urine in the neutral sulfur fraction. He has also found an increased output of glycuronic acid in the urine on administration of napthalene to rabbits. Nakashima has shown further that the glutathione of the liver and eye lens markedly diminishes on the administration of naphthalene. Bourne and Young (9), apparently unaware of the work of Tsuji (7) and Nakashima (S), fed naphthalene to rabbits and isolated from the urine of these rabbits a substance which was