Experiments with C14-Menadione (Vitamin K3)

Abstract

C14-menadione (2-methyl-C14-1:4-naphthoquinone) was prepared and administered intramuscularly to mice in doses of 1 and 0.1 mg, and to cholecystonephrostomized dogs in a dose of 1 mg/kg. The radioactivity was rapidly absorbed from the injection site and excreted in the urine, with only traces being detected in the blood. Quantities of radioactive material were not stored in any tissue. With the largest dose (1 mg/25 g mouse) a trace of activity was found in the liver and lung. The activity in the urine was attached to a single compound but a second component appeared on mild hydrolysis of the urine.