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Mechanism of metabolic cleavage of a furan ring

Journal Article · · Drug Metab. Dispos.; (United States)
OSTI ID:5164783

We studied the mechanism of metabolic cleavage of a furan ring, using a new hypolipidemic agent, ethyl 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-5-(2-furyl)oxazole-4-acetate (TA-1801), as a model compound. A TA-1801 analogue labeled with deuterium at the 5-position of its furan ring was administered orally to rats. The analysis of urinary metabolites by GC/MS revealed that the deuterium of the furan was retained in the ring-opened metabolite (M3). Metabolic cleavage of furan has been generally considered to proceed by hydroxylation of the 5-position followed by tautomerism and hydrolysis of the resulting 5-hydroxyfuran derivative. However, if the cleavage proceeded by this pathway, the deuterium of the 5-position would be eliminated during hydroxylation. Therefore, we propose that the ring was cleaved directly to form an unsaturated aldehyde, considering the mechanism of oxidation by cytochrome P-450. Although this intermediate was not detected in the biological specimens, a synthetic unsaturated aldehyde was transformed to the actual urinary metabolites M2 and M3 (major ring-opened metabolites) in the isolated rat liver.

Research Organization:
Tanabe Seiyaku Co., Ltd., Saitama (Japan)
OSTI ID:
5164783
Journal Information:
Drug Metab. Dispos.; (United States), Journal Name: Drug Metab. Dispos.; (United States) Vol. 15:6; ISSN DMDSA
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English