Metabolism of N-hydroxyurethane by guinea pig liver preparations

The present study demonstrated the metabolism of N-hydroxyurethane by cell-free preparations, i.e., 9000 X g supernatant, cytosol and microsomes, from guinea pig livers. Under anaerobic conditions, the metabolizing activities of these preparations were enhanced markedly by addition of both an NADPH- or NADH-generating system and FAD. When the 30-45% ammonium sulfate fraction from liver cytosol was combined with liver microsomes or milk xanthine oxidase, the metabolic reaction of N-hydroxyurethane proceeded to a greater extent. Thin-layer chromatographic examination showed that urethane was only a metabolite formed from N-hydroxyurethane by these preparations.