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. 2021 Apr 6;23:44. doi: 10.1186/s13058-021-01419-6

Fig. 1.

Fig. 1

Human metabolism of di-2-ethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), one of the most widely used phthalate plasticizers. Initial hydrolysis of this diester to mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (MEHP) is followed by oxidation of the ethyl (a) or hexyl (b) side chains; both side chains are oxidized (c) to yield mono(1-hydroxyethyl-4-carboxybutyl) phthalate (MHECBP) and mono(1-hydroxyethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate (MHECPP). The metabolites shown in the figure are MCMHP, mono(2-carboxymethylhexyl) phthalate; MECBP, mono(2-ethyl-4-carboxybutyl) phthalate; MECPP, mono(2-ethyl-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate; MECPrP, mono(2-ethyl-3-carboxypropyl) phthalate; MEHCPP, mono(2-ethyl-4-hydroxy-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate; MEHHP, mono(2-ethyl-5-hydroxyhexyl) phthalate; MEOCPP, mono(2-ethyl-4-oxo-5-carboxypentyl) phthalate; MEOHP, mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate; MHEHP, mono2-(1-hydroxyethyl) hexyl-phthalate; and MOEHP, mono2-(1-oxoethyl)-hexyl phthalate