Excretion and Absorption of Methyl Mercury After Polythiol Eesin Treatment

Abstract

A synthetic polythiol resin when added to food at a concentration of 1% doubled the rate of excretion of mercury from mice given a single dose of methyl mercuric chloride. After 42 days of resin treatment the levels of mercury in blood, brain, kidney, and liver had been reduced by factors of 7.2, 6.0, 7.2, and 10.0, respectively, as compared with those in untreated animals. The resin also reduced by 50% the rate of absorption of methyl mercury compounds from food.