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699589 
Journal Article 
Metabolism of ethyl acetate in the rat: Hydrolysis of ethyl alcohol in vitro and in vivo 
Gallaher, E; Loomis, T 
1975 
1 
Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology
ISSN: 0041-008X
EISSN: 1096-0333 
34 
2 
309-313 
English 
1209628 
Because of the abundance of nonspecific esterases, one might expect the common solvent ethyl acetate (EtAc) to be hydrolyzed to ethyl alcohol (EtOH) in vivo. It would then be possible to demonstrate EtOH accumulation following exposure to EtAc vapor. Preliminary studies showed that rat blood incubated at 37°C does hydrolyze EtAc to EtOH, with a half-time of approximately 65 min. Analyses were done by gas chromatography. To study this reaction in vivo, rats were anesthetized with pentobarbital, and cannulae were inserted into the femoral arteries. EtAc was injected ip as a 25% (v/v) solution in corn oil (1.6 g/kg) and blood samples were drawn periodically. Hydrolysis was very rapid in vivo, with a half-time estimated at 5–10 min. Inhalation studies were then carried out by exposing anesthetized rats to several concentrations of EtAc vapor via an endotracheal tube. When EtAc concentrations were increased above 2000 ppm, EtAc absorption exceeded EtOH oxidation, leading to an accumulation of EtOH in the blood. Although blood EtOH concentrations increased steadily to over 0.10 g/100 ml in 5 hr, EtAc remained consistently below 0.01 g/100 ml and did not change throughout the course of the experiment, again indicating rapid hydrolysis. The data indicate that EtOH will accumulate during exposure to EtAc if the ambient concentration of EtAc is sufficiently high.