The Differentiation of N-Oxidation and N-Dealkylation of N-Ethyl-N-methylaniline by Rabbit Liver Microsomes as Distinct Metabolic Routes

Abstract

1. N-Oxidation and N-dealkylation were shown to be separate routes of metabolism for N-ethyl-N-methylaniline.

2. N-Dealkylation, but not N-oxidation, is enhanced when NADH is present in addition to the NADPH-regenerating cofactors.

3. Some inhibitors, e.g. p-chloromercuribenzoate, inhibit N-dealkylation to a very much greater extent than they do N-oxidation.

4. N-Dealkylation is affected more by ‘ageing’ of the microsomal preparation or by the presence of bile salts, than is N-oxidation.

5. N-Oxidation followed by N-O-α-carbon migration of oxygen is only implicated to a very minor extent in the N-dealkylation process.