Abstract
11-Oxo-Δ8-tetrahydrocannabinol (11-oxo-Δ8-THC) was found in the mouse brain and liver extracts as a new in vivo metabolite of Δ8-THC. The metabolite was detected by thin-layer chromatography using two aldehyde reagents together with a phenol reagent and identified as a heptafluorobutyrate by ECD-gas chromatography. This identification was further supported by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Content of the metabolite in the mouse liver was 0.09 or 0.19 μg/g at 15 min after the i. v. injection of Δ8-THC or 11-hydroxy-Δ8-THC (11-OH-Δ8-THC) at a dose of 10 mg/kg. On the contrary, 11-oxo-Δ8-THC was not precisely quantified (<0.01 μg/g) in the brain after the injection of Δ8-THC, although its content after the injection of 11-OH-Δ8-THC was 0.03 μg/g.
