Methyl Mercury Decomposition in Mice Treated with Antibiotics

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Abstract
The role of intestinal flora in the decomposition and fecal excretion of methyl mercury was studied in mice treated with antibiotics. The antibiotics, neomycin sulfate and chloramphenicol, were given to mice in drinking water for 6 days before i.p. administration of methyl mercuric chloride (MMC) and intestinal microorganisms were reduced. Inorganic and organic Hg were determined separately for feces, intestinal contents and organs. On the 4th day after Hg administration, the percentage ratios of inorganic Hg to total Hg in the contents of the cecum and large intestine were less in mice treated with antibiotics, at 37 and 39%, respectively, than in controls (66 and 65%, respectively). Administration of the antibiotics reduced the excretion of inorganic Hg in the feces to 26% of that of controls and reduced the excretion of total Hg to 60%. Reduction of intestinal microorganisms by the antibiotics was assumed to have caused the reduced decomposition of methyl mercury in the cecal contents and the reduced excretion of total Hg in the feces.

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