Isolation and identification of three urinary metabolites of retinoic acid in the rat.

After the intraperitoneal administration of high doses of ¹⁴C- and ³H-labelled retinoic acid ( 1 ) to rats three major urinary metabolites have been isolated in microgram amounts by use of column, thin-layer and high-pressure liquid chromatography. Their structures were elucidated by mass spectroscopy and Fourier transform ¹H-NMR. spectroscopy as 2 (5-methyl-5-[2-(2,6,6-trimethyl-3-oxo-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)vinyl]-2-tetrahydrofuranone), 3 (5-[2-(6-hydroxymethyl-2,6-dimethyl-3-oxo-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)vinyl]-5-methyl-2-tetrahydrofuranone) and 4 (6-(6-hydroxymethyl-2,6-dimethyl-3-oxo-1-cyclohexen-1-yl)-4-methyl-4-hexenoic acid). In these metabolites the tetraene side chain of 1 is shortened and the cyclohexene ring oxidized. The radioactivity of 2 and 3 accounted for about 10% (0.9% of the dose) each, metabolite 4 for about 6% (0.5% of the dose) of the total urinary radioactivity.