Internal Deposition of Ingested Cerium in Suckling Mice

Abstract

Post partum albino mice were injected intraperitoneally with lP4Ce-citrate at different times during the lactation period. Twenty-four hours and 4 weeks later, the suckling neonates were sacrificed and the 144Ce content in their digestive tract, liver and carcass determined by gamma counting. The fraction 0f14~Ce absorbed from the gastrointestinal tract was calculated. It is one to two orders of magnitude above the currently accepted values for gastrointestinal absorption of lanthanides in adult mice. The discriminatory characteristics of the gastrointestinal tract in early life, as derived from our experiments, are discussed in the light of other relevant investigations.