Abstract: Dibutyl phthalate (DBP) is naturally occurs ubiquitously in medicinal and edible jelly fungi, and its potential harm to the environment and organisms has increasingly become a major concern. In this study, the photoinduced toxicity of DBP was studied and its mechanism of action was investigated. The metabolism and distribution of DBP in the plasma and liver of rats intragastrically administered with it were detected by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Moreover, the contents of reactive oxygen species (ROS), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in rat liver and kidney were determined, and the pathological sections of liver and kidney were observed. Pharmacokinetics showed that sunlight could promote the transformation of DBP into mono-n-butylphthalate (MBP), and MBP content in the liver and kidney was higher than that in other organs. MBP could significantly increase ROS and MDA levels and decrease GSH level and SOD activity in rat liver and kidney, providing evidence that MBP could induce lipid peroxidation in rat liver and induce early liver injury. The pathological sections showed that light could enhance the damage of MBP to rat liver and kidney cells. Therefore, DBP is a potentially harmful phototoxic substance in male rats. In conclusion, much attention should be paid to its application in foods and packaging materials.

Key words: dibutyl phthalate, photoinduced toxicity, lipid peroxidation injury, liver injury, kidney injury, pathological change