1-Methyl-tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid is present in the rat brain and is not increased after acute ethanol injection with cyanamide treatment.
We conducted analyses of 1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid (1Me3C-THBC) by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (negative chemical ionization mode) to investigate its presence and the in vivo condensation between tryptophan and AcH. 1Me3C-THBC was found in the cerebellum and the cerebrum of normal rat [117.0 +/- 41.7 and 46.5 +/- 13.9 pmol/g tissue (mean +/- SEM), respectively]. The concentrations of 1Me3C-THBC and tryptophan were higher in the cerebellum than those in the cerebrum. The level of 1Me3C-THBC in both regions remained unchanged following a single oral ethanol administration alone or with cyanamide pretreatment. These data suggest that acetaldehyde is an unlike precursor of 1Me3C-THBC as a result of ethanol ingestion. 1Me3C-THBC also existed in the rat chow (282.0 +/- 24.2 pmol/g), so that most of brain 1Me3C-THBC detected in the rat brain might have originated from dietary sources. However, the possibility of a biosynthesis from tryptophan and alpha-keto acid still remained, especially after long-term ethanol treatment.
Fukushima
S
S
Central Research Laboratory, Shimane Medical University, Izumo, Japan.
Matsubara
K
K
Akane
A
A
Shiono
H
H
D000079:Acetaldehyde / Q000097:blood; D000818:Animals; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism*; D002243:Carbolines / Q000378:metabolism*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D003484:Cyanamide / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000431:Ethanol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000097:blood / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D011919:Rats, Inbred Strains; D014364:Tryptophan / Q000378:metabolism
D002243:Carbolines; D000431:Ethanol; D003484:Cyanamide; C038114:1-methyl-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acid; D014364:Tryptophan; D000079:Acetaldehyde