title: Urinary excretion and metabolism of orally administered mefenorex.
abstract: Metabolic pathways and the pharmacokinetic profile of mefenorex ((+/-)N-(3-chloropropyl)-1-methyl-2-phenylethylamine), and its main metabolite amphetamine (1-methyl-2-phenylethylamine) have been studied in two healthy volunteers, after a single oral dose of mefenorex (1.2 mg/kg body weight for a male subject and 2.4 mg/kg body weight for a female subject). Urinary concentrations were determined by gas chromatography (GC) and metabolite structure was identified by GC/MS following derivatization of urine extracts. The ratio of this metabolite to unchanged drug in urine samples, collected up to 5 h following administration, was essentially the same after either of the administered doses. The calculated Kel for mefenorex after the higher dose was in the range of 0.191-0.272 h-1, with a biological half life (t1/2) of 3.98-2.55 h, depending on the method of calculation used. The elimination of amphetamine was much slower with a Kel ranging from 0.039-0.073 h-1 and a t1/2 from 9.5-17.8 h. Depending on the dose administered, the rate constant of metabolite formation was 0.129 and 0.685 h-1 for low and high doses, respectively. Urinary excretion of Rondimen amounted to 11.9% within 72 h after administration. Of this amount, 1.5% represented unchanged drug and 10.4% represented metabolites. In addition to amphetamine 3 other metabolites were identified: p-hydroxy mefenorex, p-hydroxy amphetamine and p-hydroxy-m-methoxy mefenorex.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy and Biochemistry, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rendić
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Slavica
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Medić-Sarić
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000661:Amphetamine / Q000652:urine; D000662:Amphetamines / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics* / Q000652:urine; D001067:Appetite Depressants / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000493:pharmacokinetics*; D001711:Biotransformation; D005260:Female; D008401:Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry; D006207:Half-Life; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012984:Software; D012995:Solubility
chemical_list: D000662:Amphetamines; D001067:Appetite Depressants; D000661:Amphetamine; C000450:mefenorex