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Tertiary Amines Related to Brompheniramine: Preferred Conformations for N-Oxygenation by the Hog Liver Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase

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Abstract

The metabolism of racemic, (D)- and (L)-brompheniramine, a widely used antihistamine, was studied with microsomes and with highly purified flavin-containing monooxygenase (FMO) from hog liver. In addition, a number of other similar tertiary amines were evaluated as substrates for FMO activity from hog liver and the kinetic constants obtained were compared with brompheniramine. Although some N-demethylation was observed, the major metabolite of brompheniramine and the other tertiary amines examined in hog liver microsomes was the metabolite containing an aliphatic nitrogen N-oxide. Brompheniramine was extensively N-oxygenated by the highly purified FMO from hog liver. N-Oxygenation of brompheniramine in both microsomes and with highly purified FMO from hog liver was enantioselective. The K m for N-oxygenation of (D)-brompheniramine was markedly lower than the K m for (L)-brompheniramine. (E)- and (Z)-zimeldine are less conformationally flexible model compounds of brompheniramine, and these compounds were also examined and were found to be stereoselectively N-oxygenated by the highly purified FMO from hog liver. The similarities and differences in K m and V max values were evaluated in terms of possible conformations of the substrates determined by SYBYL molecular mechanics calculations. Distance map data indicated that FMO preferentially accommodated selected conformations of tertiary amines. Thus, (D)-bromopheniramine and (Z)-zimeldine presumably have the aliphatic tertiary amine nitrogen atom and aromatic ring center at a defined distance and geometry and were more efficiently N-oxygenated than their respective isomers.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry and the Liver Center, University of California, San Francisco, California, 94143

    John R. Cashman, Joy R. Celestial, Julie Newdoll & Sang Bum Park

  2. Department of Chemistry, University of Southampton, Hampshire, UK, S095HN

    Andrew Leach

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  1. John R. Cashman
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Cashman, J.R., Celestial, J.R., Leach, A. et al. Tertiary Amines Related to Brompheniramine: Preferred Conformations for N-Oxygenation by the Hog Liver Flavin-Containing Monooxygenase. Pharm Res 10, 1097–1105 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1018947714030

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