Feline attractant, cis,trans-nepetalactone: metabolism in the domestic cat.
cis,trans-Nepetalactone, the biologically active component of catnip, was force-fed to the domestic cat. When the (14)C-labeled compound was fed, 86 to 94 percent of the radioactivity was recovered in the urine, 1 to 2 percent was found in the feces, and 1 to 12 percent was collected as carbon dioxide. The major (50 to 75 percent) metabolite was alpha-nepetalinic acid, which was excreted in the urine together with small amounts of dihydronepetalactone, unchanged cis,-trans-nepetalactone, and several unidentified compounds. No marked physiological or histological eflects were observed when 20 to 80 milligrams of cis, trans-nepetalactone was administered orally. This is the first report on the metabolism of a mammalian attractant.
D000821:Animal Feed; D000824:Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D002415:Cats; D002855:Chromatography, Thin Layer; D007783:Lactones / Q000378:metabolism*; D013729:Terpenes / Q000378:metabolism*
D002247:Carbon Isotopes; D007783:Lactones; D013729:Terpenes