Fate of the isoprenoid hydrocarbon, pristane, in rainbow trout

The excretion routes and tissue distribution of [ 3H]pristane were measured in rainbow trout, Salmo gairdneri, after a single intragastric dose (0.1 mg). This branched-alkane was quickly and largely absorbed. The balance study showed that the major routes of excretion were fecal (40.4% of the dose) and branchial (39.6%). In feces radioactivity was exclusively due to [ 3H]pristane, whereas 3H resulting from gill excretion was principally associated with tritiated water. Only 2.6% of the radioactivity was cleared via the kidneys and found in the urine as metabolites. After 48 hr, no hydrocarbon accumulation was observed in gall bladder, while in liver and fat, respectively, 69 and 34% of the radioactivity originated from pristane, the rest of the labeling being mostly associated with lipid components.