The toxicokinetic behavior of α-pinene and its potential reactive metabolite, α-pinene oxide, was investigated following whole body inhalation exposure to 50 and 100 ppm α-pinene in rats and mice for 6 h per day for 7d. In both species and sexes, the maximum blood concentration (Cmax) increased more than proportionally while the increase in area under the concentration time curve (AUC) was proportional to the exposure concentration. When normalized to the calculated dose (D), both Cmax/D (male rats, 12.2–54.5; female rats, 17.4–74.1; male mice, 7.41–14.2; female mice, 6.59–13.0 (ng/mL)/(mg/kg)) and AUC/D (male rats, 28.9–31.1; female rats, 55.8–56.8; male mice, 18.1–19.4; female mice, 19.2–22.5 (h*ng/mL)/(mg/kg)) in rats were higher than in mice and in female rats were higher than in male rats; no sex difference was observed in mice. α-Pinene was eliminated from blood with half-lives between 12.2 and 17.4 h in rats and 6.18–19.4 h in mice. At the low dose, the ratio of α-pinene oxide to α-pinene, based on Cmax and AUC, respectively, was 0.200–0.237 and 0.279–0.615 in rats and 0.060–0.086 and 0.036–0.011 in mice demonstrating lower formation of the oxide in mice than in rats. At the high dose, the ratio decreased considerably in both species pointing to saturation of pathways leading to the formation of α-pinene oxide. α-Pinene and the oxide were quantified in the mammary glands of rats and mice with tissue to blood ratios of ≥23 demonstrating retention of these analytes in mammary glands. The findings of epoxide formation and species- and sex-differences in systemic exposure may be important in providing context and relating animal findings to human exposures.
