Characterization of the metabolites of ellipticine in rat bile

The two major metabolites of ellipticine (NSC 71795) were isolated from rat bile by a combination of solvent extraction, partition column chromatography, and reverse phase high-performance liquid chromatography. Purification and structural elucidation of the bile products were aided by administration of the drug with a dual label (14C and 2H). The two metabolites were shown to be the sulfate and glucuronide conjugates of 9-hydroxyellipticine by chemical, enzymatic, and mass-spectral fragmentation comparison with synthetic and enzymatically prepared reference compounds.