Effect of the Tumor Promoter 12-O-TetradecanoyIphorbol-13-Acetate on the Rate of Disappearance of Nicotine from Mouse Skin

Abstract

The rate of disappearance of nicotine from mouse skin was increased by the presence of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) during the first 2-hour period following the application of nicotine to mouse skin. The biological half-life (t^½) for nicotine alone was 1.2–1.3 h whereas in the presence of TPA, t^½ was 0.8 to 0.9 h. The disappearance of nicotine from mouse skin followed first-order kinetics over a period of 6 h whereas the loss of nicotine in the presence of TPA from mouse skin followed first-order kinetics for the first 2 h, then the nicotine level became fairly constant for the time period of 2–5 h. Benzo(α)pyrene did not affect the rate of disappearance of nicotine from mouse skin. Neither cotinine nor nicotine 1′-N oxide, metabolites of nicotine, was detected in mouse skin following the topical application of this alkaloid.