The Metabolism of 1,2-Benzanthracene in Mice and Rats*

From previous metabolic studies it is known that carcinogenic hydrocarbons can be converted by the animal body into phenolic derivatives. In mice and rats, 1,2,5,6-dibenzanthracene is converted into a dihydroxy derivative (3, 8), possessing properties similar to those of synthetic 4',8'-dihydroxy-l,2,5,6-dibenzanthracene, formula I (4), while 3,4-benzpyrene is converted into a monohydroxy derivative (11, 5, 6, 7), which, from recent studies (2), appears to be the 8-hydroxy compound, formula II. A similarity in the positions of the hydroxy groups in the two cases becomes apparent when the respective authors in the study of the metabolism of 3,4-benzpyrene (1). About 2 ml. of a saturated solution of 1,2-benzanthracene in arachis oil was injected intraperitoneally per rat, and 0.4 ml. of the solution per