Abstract
THE insecticide gammexane is known to be converted into water-soluble compounds in a variety of invertebrates1, but the nature of these metabolites is not known. Some indication of their structure has been given by Bradbury and Standen2, who obtained a mixture of dichlorothiophenols after the alkaline hydrolysis of excreta from gammexane poisoned flies. It is also known that homogenates of flies require glutathione if enzymatic conversion of gammexane to water-soluble derivatives is to occur2. These results have suggested that a compound like S-(pentachlorocyclohexyl)glutathione might be a metabolite, and this hypothesis is supported by the presence of highly active enzymes in a variety of insects which catalyse the condensation of other chloro-compounds with glutathione3.
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References
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CLARK, A., HITCHCOCK, M. & SMITH, J. Metabolism of Gammexane in Flies, Ticks and Locusts. Nature 209, 103 (1966). https://doi.org/10.1038/209103a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/209103a0
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