Disposition and chemical stability of telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide.

Telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide, the principal metabolite of telmisartan in humans, was characterized in terms of chemical stability and the structure of its isomerization products was elucidated. In addition, pharmacokinetics of telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide were assessed in rats after i.v. dosing. Similar to other acylglucuronides, telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide and diclofenac 1-O-acylglucuronide, which was used for comparison, showed the formation of different isomeric acylglucuronides on incubation in aqueous buffer. The isomeric acylglucuronides of telmisartan consisted of the 2-O-, 3-O-, and 4-O-acylglucuronides (alpha,beta-anomers). First order degradation half-lives of 26 and 0. 5 h were observed on incubation in buffer of pH 7.4 for the 1-O-acylglucuronides of telmisartan and diclofenac, respectively. This indicated that the 1-O-acylglucuronide of telmisartan was among the most stable acylglucuronides reported to date. The high stability of telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide was confirmed by in vitro experiments that indicated only very low covalent binding of telmisartan acylglucuronide to human serum albumin but a considerable amount of covalently bound radioactivity with the acylglucuronide of diclofenac. After i.v. dosing to rats, telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide was rapidly cleared from plasma with a clearance of 180 ml/min/kg, compared with 15.6 ml/min/kg for the parent compound. Because telmisartan 1-O-acylglucuronide exhibited a comparably high chemical stability together with a high clearance that resulted in low systemic exposure, the amount of covalent binding to proteins should be negligible compared with other frequently used drugs, such as furosemide, ibuprofen, or salicylic acid.

Meloxicam: metabolic profile and biotransformation products in the rat.

1. The metabolic fate of 14C-labelled meloxicam was investigated in the urine and bile of rat following oral and intraduodenal administration. Structural elucidation of metabolites was performed by nuclear magnetic resonance, mass spectrometry (electron impact and fast atom bombardment). 2. A mean total of 76.3% 14C-radioactivity was recovered in urine over 96 h, with the remainder in the faeces. The metabolic pattern in the excreta was independent of dose (1 versus 10 mg/kg) and collection period (0-8 versus 24-48 h). In bile one of the main metabolites was absent. 3. Meloxicam underwent extensive metabolism with only small amounts of unchanged drug recovered in the urine (< 0.5%) or bile (4.5%). Principal routes of biotransformation were: oxidation of the 5-methyl group of the N-heteroaryl-carbamoyl side chain to yield the 5'-hydroxymethyl derivative (33% of metabolites in urine, 22% in bile) and the 5'-carboxy derivative (16% in urine, 49% in bile). Oxidative cleavage of the benzothiazine-ring yielded an oxamic acid metabolite in urine (23.5%), which was not present in bile. 4. The introduction of a methyl-group into the N-heteroaryl-carbamoyl side chain increased lipophilicity and facilitated metabolic excretion compared with structurally related compounds.

Epimerization of erythromycin derivatives.

Dirithromycin (3) isomerizes upon dissolution in different solvents. From X-ray analysis of V-T 108, an analogue of dirithromycin, and comparative 1H and 13C NMR, and MS data, the isomer of dirithromycin was confirmed to be the C-16-(S)-epimer. The ratio of the two epimers at equilibrium conditions was approximately 8:2 (R/S) in methanol at room temperature.

Quaternary N-glucuronides of 10-hydroxylated amitriptyline metabolites in human urine.

1. Conjugated metabolites were isolated from the urine of patients receiving amitriptyline treatment using a combination of solid-phase extraction, h.p.l.c. and t.l.c. 2. By n.m.r. and mass spectrometry, N-glucuronides of E- and Z-10-hydroxyamitriptyline and of trans-10,11-dihydroxyamitriptyline were identified in addition to the previously described O-glucuronides of E- and Z-10-hydroxyamitriptyline and -nortriptyline and amitriptyline-N-glucuronide. 3. The quaternary ammonium glucuronides proved to be resistant to acid hydrolysis, but could be cleaved enzymatically. 4. In urine samples from three patients, 35-60% of conjugated 10-hydroxyamitriptyline was found in the form of N-glucuronides. 5. A volunteer given an i.v. infusion of amitriptyline-N-glucuronide excreted E- and Z-10-hydroxyamitriptyline-N-glucuronide; following ingestion of E-10-hydroxyamitriptyline its N-glucuronide could be measured in urine.

Glucuronides of hydroxylated metabolites of amitriptyline and nortriptyline isolated from rat bile.

Polar conjugates were isolated from the bile of rats given amitriptyline (AT, unlabeled or labeled with 14C), nortriptyline (NT), or 10-hydroxy (10-OH) derivatives of the drugs. The procedure involved extraction on a column of polystyrene resin, elution with methanol, and separation by preparative TLC followed by reversed phase HPLC. Individual metabolites were characterized by NMR spectroscopy and fast atom bombardment mass spectrometry and by enzymatic or acid deconjugation with subsequent identification of aglycones and glucuronic acid. Conversely, they were compared with conjugates obtained from hydroxy compounds by incubation with rat liver microsomes and UDP-glucuronic acid. Glucuronides isolated from the bile of rats given AT were derived from 2-OH-AT, (E)- and (Z)-10-OH-AT, 2-hydroxy-3-methoxy- (or 3-hydroxy-2-methoxy) AT, 10, 11-(OH)2-AT, and some of the N-demethylated analogues of these compounds. In most cases, 10-OH compounds form two diastereoisomeric glucuronides produced from the enantiomeric alcohols; 10, 11-(OH)2 metabolites occur as cis- and trans-isomers that are conjugated with glucuronic acid. Administration of synthetic (E)- and (Z)-10-OH-AT and -NT leads to the excretion of their glucuronides along with conjugates formed after demethylation and/or introduction of a second OH group. NT gives rise to 2-OH-NT glucuronide besides those conjugates derived from (E)-10-OH-NT. No glutathione conjugates could be detected.

Phenolic metabolites of amitriptyline and nortriptyline in rat bile.

Anesthetized bile fistula rats received amitriptyline (AT), its N-oxide (AT-NO), or nortriptyline (NT) at doses of 72 mumol/kg ip, and bile was collected for 6-9 hr. Isolation of metabolites was achieved by enzymic deconjugation and repeated TLC of extracted aglycones. Purified compounds were characterized by UV, NMR, and mass spectrometry, by color reactions, and by chemical interconversions. Besides the alcohols E-10-hydroxy-AT and 10,11-dihydroxy-AT, the phenol E-2-hydroxy-AT occurred as a major AT metabolite, while 2,10- and 2,11-dihydroxy-AT, 2,10,11-trihydroxy-AT, and 2-hydroxy-3-methoxy (or 3-hydroxy-2-methoxy)-AT were present in smaller quantities. Further minor metabolites were 2-hydroxy-11-oxo-AT, 3-hydroxy-AT, 3,11-dihydroxy-AT, and its dehydration product 3-hydroxy-10,11-dehydro-AT. The exact position of the functional groups was elucidated by the nuclear Overhauser effect (NOE) in NMR spectroscopy and by analyzing metabolite patterns in the bile of rats given E- or Z-10-hydroxy-AT. Administration of AT-NO led to a larger proportion of methylated catechols and a smaller one of 10-hydroxy metabolites. Besides the tertiary amines, rats given AT or AT-NO excreted the demethylated analogues of some of the hydroxylation products. The latter also occurred as metabolites of NT, the ratio of aromatic and aliphatic hydroxylation being lower than with AT or AT-NO. Urine of rabbits treated orally with AT contained mono- and dihydroxylated metabolites resulting from attack at positions 2, 3, 10, and/or 11 and the same methylated catechols as rat bile.

Amitriptyline metabolites in human urine. Identification of phenols, dihydrodiols, glycols, and ketones.

From the urine patients being treated with amitriptyline, drug metabolites were extracted by adsorption to polystyrene. Nonconjugated compounds and aglycones liberated by enzymic hydrolysis were purified separately by repeated TLC and characterized by physicochemical and chemical methods. Besides the known E- and Z-10-hydroxy derivatives of amitriptyline (AT), nortriptyline (NT), and their primary amine analogue, two isomeric 10,11-dihydroxy compounds could be identified in each series. Metabolites with an oxo function in position 10 occurred in minor quantities. The phenols 2-hydroxy-NT and 2,11-dihydroxy-NT, as well as the 1,2-dihydrodiol derived from NT, were regularly present, while the corresponding tertiary amines as well as 3-hydroxy-AT and -NT were detected occasionally in very small amounts.

In vivo screening of glutathione related detoxification products in the early state of drug development.

Glutathione (GSH) adducts and consecutive degradation products thereof are indications of reactive intermediates during drug metabolism. As demonstrated with the analgesic SX-PP 16 (4-amino-3,5-dibromacetanilide), however, interactions of a drug with GSH can be detected by labelling the GSH-stores with labelled cysteine, and consecutive administration of the unlabelled drug even at therapeutic doses. The GSH-adducts are sensitively and specifically traced by HPLC, applying column-switching and a combination of diode-array- and radioactivity detection. This approach seems to be much more sensitive than a classical GSH-depletion study. The structure of the main metabolite of SX-PP 16 (46% of urinary excretion) was elucidated as 3-bromo-4-amino-5-mercapturyl-acetanilid.

Phenolic metabolites of chlorprothixene in man and dog.

From urine and feces of dogs and urine of patients given chlorprothixene (CPT) per os, metabolites were extracted without or with enzymatic deconjugation and separated by repeated TLC. Purified compounds were characterized by UV, NMR, and mass spectrometry, by color reactions, and by chemical interconversions. Both species excreted 6- and 7-hydroxy-CPT besides the sulfoxide and demethylated analogues. In urine, the phenols were largely present as conjugates. The major metabolites in dog feces were 5-hydroxy-CPT and its demethylated derivative, whereas 5-hydroxylation was not detected in man. Dog excrete also contained 6-hydroxy-7-methoxy (or 7-hydroxy-6-methoxy)-CPT; further, a 5-hydroxy compound was detected in which the exocyclic double bond was hydrated. In the other metabolites, the Z-configuration of CPT had been retained, but small quantities of E-isomers were formed during isolation. According to preliminary quantitative data, phenols accounted for a small part of extractable metabolites in human urine, whereas they predominated in dog feces.

[Metabolism of beclobrate in rat and man]. / Untersuchungen zur Metabolisierung von Beclobrat bei Ratte und Mensch.

The major pathway of biotransformation of beclobrate [(2-[4-[(4-chlorophenyl)methyl]phenoxy]-2-methylbutyric acid ethyl ester] is the ester cleavage to beclobrinic acid (M1), which is eliminated as glucuronide. Subsequent metabolic attack is occurring via oxidation of the methylene bridge to the carbinol (M2) as well as to the benzophenone (M3). The p-chloro substituted phenyl ring is oxidated via a postulated arene oxide to the 2'- and 3'-phenol metabolites (M5 and M6) and to the trans-2',3'-dihydrodiol (M4). Except M4, all metabolites are eliminated exclusively as glucuronides.

[AR-L 115 BS, comparison of human metabolite pattern and biotransformation with other species]. / AR-L 115 BS, Speziesvergleich der Metabolitenmuster und Biotransformation beim Menschen.

Following oral administration of 14C labelled 2-[(2-methoxy-4-methylsulfinyl)phenyl]-1H-imidazo[4,5-b]pyridine (AR-L 115 BS) to the rat, rabbit, dog, rhesus monkey, baboon and man the metabolic pattern in plasma and urine was compared and human urinary metabolites were isolated. None of the animal species investigated shows a metabolic pattern identical to that of man. The plasma of rat, dog and rabbit shows wide variation of metabolites with high amounts of two unpolar metabolites of AR-L 115 BS (sulfoxide), namely M0/2 identical with AR-L 114 BS (sulfone with regard to AR-L 115 BS) and M0/1 identical with AR-L 113 BS (sulfide). In comparison to man the urines of the animals show higher amounts of the sulfone (AR-L 114 BS) and the sulfide (AR-L 113 BS). A main pathway of the metabolism of the pyrido-imidazole of the AR-L 115 BS-type is the oxidative pyridine-ring cleavage leading to N-acetylated 5-aminoimidazoles. Further metabolites are characterised by a hydroxyl group in the 6-position of the pyrido-imidazole moiety. Besides the oxidation of tthe sulfoxide function to the sulfone we could also observe the thioether (sulfide) not only of the parent compound itself but also of some of the metabolites in the series of the AR-L 115 BS-biotransformation. The identification of the human urinary metabolites, was carried out by means of TLC, HPLC, UV-, MS- and NMR-spectroscopy.

The use of stable isotopes to prove the saturable first-pass effect of methoxsalen.

Methoxsalen, administered orally shows a strong, albeit saturable first-pass effect, as demonstrated by classical dose linearity testing and by a new method, using stable isotopes and gas chromatographic mass spectrometric analysis. The therapeutic consequences of the first-pass effect are discussed.

The metabolism of 8-methoxypsoralen in man.

8-Methoxypsoralen is metabolized rapidly and completely in man. Most of the metabolites presently known have their origin in a metabolic attack on the furan moiety yielding an aryl-diol and aryl-acetic-acid and are excreted as conjugates.

Formation of sulfone metabolites from chlorpromazine and perazine in man.

Didesmethylchlorpromazine sulfone [gamma-(2-chlorophenothiazinyl-10)-propylamine sulfone] has been isolated from the urine of a patient under continuous chlorpromazine therapy and identified by mass spectrometry. The same compound was present in organs of rats after injection of the corresponding sulfide. The Cl-free analogue, gamma-(phenothiazinyl-10)-propylamine sulfone, was excreted by patients receiving perazine and by a volunteer after ingestion of the primary amine sulfoxide.

[Studies on the biotransformation of fominoben-HCl in man (author's transl)]. / Untersuchungen zum Metabolismus von Fominoben-HCl beim Menschen.

The biotransformation of 3'-chloro-2'-(N-methyl-N-[(morpholino-carbonyl)methyl]aminomethyl)benzanilide hydrochloride (fominoben-HCl, PB 89 Cl, Noleptan) was investigated in man. The most substantial metabolites were quantified. The metabolite patterns of fominoben in urine and plasma are compared. Fominoben, is rapidly and extensively metabolized to many metabolites. At the time of the maximum plasma level. 2 h after an oral dose of 160 mg of 14C-PB 89 Cl, only 1.5% of the plasma radioactivity can be measured as the unchanged initial compound. No parent compound can be found in the urine, only in the stool some traces of fominoben can be detected. The biotransformation can be characterized by four main pathways: 1. cleavage reactions, 2. hydroxylations, 3. cyclisations, 4. conjugations. The reactions 1--3 proceed as well simultaneously as successively.

[Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of trazodone in man (author's transl)]. / Pharmakokinetik und Stoffwechsel von Trazodone beim Menschen

After intravenous, intramuscular and oral administration of 25 mg 14C-labelled 2-(3-[4-(m-chlorophenyl)-1-piperazinyl]-propyl)-s-triazolo[4,3-a]pyridin-3-(2H)-one-hydrochloride (trazodone), plasma levels, elimination and metabolite pattern in plasma and urine were investigated. The plasma levels after all routes of administration are almost identical. The absorption of the compound is fast and complete. The elimination of radioactivity occurs in a biphasic manner with a half-life of 1 h for the earlier and 13 h for the second phase, no matter what application route had been chosen. The comparison of the plasma levels of fasted and non-fasted subjects shows a shift of the plasma maximum from 1.5 to 2.5 h following administration and a decrease in the maximum level of 30%. The radioactivity is excreted predominantly by renal processes (70-75% within 72 h). The main product in plasma is unchanged trazodone, whereas in urine it is found only in minute amounts. The radioactivity in urine is represented by conjugates that had formed after hydroxylation on the chlorophenyl residue (20%), by a dihydrodiol-metabolite of trazodone (15%) and by a carboxylic acid originating from oxidative cleavage of the parent compound (35%).

[Pharmacokinetics and metabolism of the antiinflammatory agents S-H 766 in man]. / Pharmakokinetik und Metabolismus des Antiphlogistikums S-H 766 beim Menschen

Blood and plasma levels as well as urinary and fecal excretion were measured in humans after oral administration of radioactively labelled 4-[j-(2'-fluorobiphenylyl)]-4-hydroxycrotonic acid (S-H 766 MO). The radioactivity in the plasma reaches maximum values of about 10 mug eq./ml 1 to 2 h after application with either form. After repeated administration good agreement is found between the plasma levels measured and those simulated according to the pharmacokinetic parameters obtained after single application. The S-H 766 metabolites were investigated in blood and urine. The substance was found to undergo considerable metabolism, only approximately 2% being excreted in the urine unchanged. The conjugates, which constitute over 60% of the radioactivity of the urine, consist mainly of glucuronides and sulfates. The structure of the aglycones shows that the metabolism occurs along two pathways, by beta-oxidation of the aliphatic side chain into aryl acetic acids and by hydroxylation of the aromatic nucleus to phenolic compounds. It must be assumed that these biotransformations take place both simultaneously and successively.