Separation and quantitation of some urinary arylalkylamines

Area of Science:

• Biochemistry
• Analytical Chemistry
• Human Physiology

Background:

• Arylalkylamines are a class of biogenic amines with diverse physiological roles.
• Understanding the excretion patterns of these compounds provides insights into metabolic processes.
• Previous studies have focused on conjugated forms, necessitating analysis of unconjugated variants.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify and quantify unconjugated arylalkylamines in human urine.
• To establish baseline excretion levels for m-tyramine, p-tyramine, beta-phenylethylamine, and tryptamine.
• To provide quantitative data for future toxicological and metabolic research.

Main Methods:

• Urine samples were collected from human volunteers.
• High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) was employed for identification and quantification.
• Excretion levels were normalized to creatinine for accurate comparison.

Main Results:

• Unconjugated m-tyramine, p-tyramine, beta-phenylethylamine, and tryptamine were successfully identified in human urine.
• Mean excretion levels (± SEM) were: m-tyramine (67 ± 5 μg/g creatinine), p-tyramine (419 ± 37 μg/g creatinine), beta-phenylethylamine (4.6 ± 1.2 μg/g creatinine), and tryptamine (82 ± 11 μg/g creatinine).
• p-Tyramine exhibited the highest mean excretion level among the studied compounds.

Conclusions:

• This study provides the first quantitative data on the excretion of unconjugated arylalkylamines in human urine.
• The established excretion levels serve as a reference for normal human physiology.
• Further research can utilize this data to investigate the clinical significance and metabolic pathways of these amines.