The Biliary Excretion of Phenoltetrabromophthalein Disulphonate and Similar Compounds

Abstract

When a xenobiotic infused into the blood stream disappears from that environment two main courses are open to it. It may be metabolised to products unrecognisable or it may be withdrawn by the excretory organs such as the liver and the kidney. Phenoltetrabromophthalein disulphonate (BSP) has been used for some years as a test of liver function based on the premise that the dye injected into the blood stream was removed by a liver excretory mechanism. This thesis consists of a discussion of the factors involved and is a record of experimental work that has been aimed, primarily, at the determination of the metabolites appearing in the bile, their mechanism of formation and by means of chemical study the exact structure of the major compound.