m-Hydroxy Benzoylecgonine Recovery in Fetal Guinea Pigs

Lynn M. Iwamoto; Christine M. Moore; Naomi Fujiwara; Michael J. Christ; Delores M. Gries; Kenneth T. Nakamura

Abstract

Recently, meta-hydroxybenzoylecgonine (m-OH BE) was identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy during quantitative analysis for cocaine. Identification of m-OH BE in addition to the routinely identified benzoylecgonine by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy confirmatory assays may increase detection of cocaine-exposed infants and decrease false negative results. However, it is not known whetherm-OH BE is derived directly from benzoylecgonine or from hydroxylated cocaine, or whether this metabolite is produced in the fetus or transferred across the placenta from the maternal circulation. We quantitated the recovery of cocaine, benzoylecgonine, andm-OH BE from amniotic fluid, fetal meconium, fetal intestine, and maternal urine for up to 4 days after single dose administration of either cocaine or benzoylecgonine to pregnant time-bred guinea pigs. m-OH BE was recovered from meconium after maternal injections of cocaine and benzoylecgonine. There was no significant detection of m-OH BE from amniotic fluid or intestine and minimal recovery from maternal urine after either cocaine or benzoylecgonine administration. Detection ofm-OH BE in meconium increased the identification of in utero exposed guinea pigs, and the greatest yield ofm-OH BE from meconium occurred later than that observed for cocaine or benzoylecgonine.

Footnotes

Send reprint requests to: Lynn M. Iwamoto, Department of Pediatrics, 1319 Punahou St., Suite 722, Honolulu, HI 96826. E-mail:lynni{at}kapiolani.org
↵1 Presented in part at Western Society for Pediatric Research annual meeting in Carmel, CA, on February 8, 1997 and at Pediatric Academic Society annual meeting in Washington, DC, on May 2, 1997. The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be considered as official or as reflecting the views of the Department of the Army or the Department of Defense. No formal financial relation exists between any of the coauthors or investigators and any arm of Mecstat Laboratories, except Dr. Moore, who is the Laboratory Director. Financial considerations have not colored the conduct, analysis, or presentation of the results of this study.
↵2 Present address: Mecstat Laboratories, Des Plaines, IL 60018-1804.
This project was supported by Kapiolani Health Research Institute, the U.S. Army Health Service Command and by a National Center for Research Resources National Institutes of Health Research Centers in Minority Institutions Award P20 RR/AI 11091.
Abbreviations used are::
m-OH BE
meta-hydroxybenzoylecgonine
GC-MS
gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy
- Received March 26, 1999.
- Accepted November 16, 1999.