Effects of chronic alcohol consumption on dermal penetration of pesticides in rats

Topically applied ethanol is a well-known dermal penetration enhancer. The purpose of this work was to determine if ethanol consumption might also increase transdermal penetration. Male rats were fed either an ethanol containing or control diet for 6–8 wk. After the feeding regime was completed, skin was removed and placed in an in vitro diffusion system. The transdermal absorption of four very commonly used herbicides was determined. Penetration through skin from ethanol-fed rats was enhanced when compared to control by a factor of 5.3 for paraquat, 2.4 for atrazine, and 2.2 for 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D), and reduced by a factor 0.6 for trifluralin. Comparison of physical factors of the herbicides to the penetration enhancement revealed an inverse linear correlation with lipophilicity, as defined by log octanol/water partition coefficient (log K ow) with r2=.98. These changes were at least partially reversible after 1 wk of abstinence from ethanol. These experiments demonstrate that regular ...