Identification of 3,4,5-Trimethoxyphenylacetic Acid as the Major Metabolite of Mescaline in the Dog

Abstract

MESCALINE (3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylethylamine), an alkaloid obtained from Anhalonium lewinii and Trichocereus terscheckii, has been the subject of many investigations. After oral administration of mescaline to dogs, Slotta and Müller¹ were able to isolate 38 percent of the mescaline as 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetic acid but were unable to detect any of the parent compound in the 24-hr, urine. These results could not be confirmed by Cochin and co-workers², who reported that only ‘trace’ quantities of 3,4,5-trimethoxyphenylacetic acid were excreted in this species, but that 28–46 percent of a dose, administered parenterally or orally, was excreted as the parent compound. Others^3–6 have reported similar findings of unchanged mescaline in the urine of human beings receiving the drug. The metabolism of this drug was re-investigated in the dog employing 8-⁻¹⁴C mescaline.