Abstract
Adrenaline and noradrenaline have been shown until recently to be metabolized according to the following three mechanism in vivo ;
1) oxidative deamination of side chain by amine oxidase
2) oxidation of the phenolic group of the ring to form adrenaline-quinone and adrenochrome
3) conjugation of the phenolic group of the ring
Previous studies in our laboratory presented evidence for existence of a new enzyme named adrenaline dehydrogenase, which catalyzes the oxidation of adrenaline and noradrenaline to their keto forms, adrenalone or noradrenalone respectively (1-3). Moreover, adrenalone has been found in blood of rabbits (4). On the basis of these results, it has been assumed that a metabolic pathway of adrenaline and noradrenaline via adrenalone and noradrenalone may exist in vivo. This paper presents the results of a survey of the new metabolic pathway.
