RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Identification and structure characterization of S-containing metabolites of 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole in rat urine and liver microsomes.
JF Drug Metabolism and Disposition
JO Drug Metab Dispos
FD American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
SP 1028
OP 1033
VO 19
IS 6
A1 K Tajima
A1 M Hashizaki
A1 K Yamamoto
A1 T Mizutani
YR 1991
UL http://dmd.aspetjournals.org/content/19/6/1028.abstract
AB After ip administration of 3-tert-butyl-4-hydroxyanisole (3-BHA) to rats, two previously undocumented metabolites 2-tert-butyl-5-methylthiohydroquinone (TBHQ-5-SMe) and 2-tert-butyl-6-methylthiohydroquinone (TBHQ-6-SMe) were identified in the urine by comparison with the authentic samples by GC/MS. In addition to these metabolites, 3-tert-butyl-4,5-dihydroxyanisole was also detected in the urine hydrolyzed by beta-glucuronidase/sulfatase. Administration of tert-butylhydroquinone (TBHQ), an O-demethylated metabolite of 3-BHA, also resulted in the formation of the S-containing metabolites, TBHQ-5-SMe and TBHQ-6-SMe. After incubation of TBHQ with rat liver microsomes in the presence of glutathione (GSH), two metabolites were isolated and purified by HPLC. The metabolites were identified as 2-tert-butyl-5-(glutathion-S-yl)hydroquinone and 2-tert-butyl-6-(glutathion-S-yl)hydroquinone by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectrometry and by fast atom bombardment-mass spectrometry. The formation of TBHQ-GSH conjugates required NADPH, molecular oxygen, and GSH. Cytochrome P-450 inhibitors such as SKF 525-A and metyrapone markedly inhibited the formation of TBHQ-GSH conjugates in vitro. These results suggest that TBHQ is converted by cytochrome P-450-mediated monooxygenases to a reactive metabolite, 2-tert-butyl-p-benzoquinone (TBQ), which then conjugates with GSH to form TBHQ-GSH conjugates. GSH S-transferase activities do not seem to play a role in GSH conjugation reaction to TBQ because cytosol fraction from rat liver homogenates did not enhance the microsome-mediated production of TBHQ-GSH conjugates.