NORHARMAN AND HARMAN IN HUMAN URINE

It has been shown that norharman and harman, present in our environmen t, may act as genotoxic compounds in human body. In order to have an i nsight of the extents of exposure to these beta-carbolines, we measure d their levels in human urine. Samples of 24-hr urine were collected f rom ten healthy volunteers eating a normal diet and three patients rec eiving parenteral alimentation. The urine samples were separated by bl ue cotton treatment, cation exchange IONEX column chromatography and H PLC on a semi-preparative ODS column. The contents of norharman and ha rman in the partially purified materials were determined by HPLC with a fluorometric detector. Norharman and harman were detected in all 24- hr urine samples from healthy volunteers at levels of 9.3-33.5 ng and 97.7-298 ng, respectively. These beta-carbolines were also found to be present in the urine of the three patients and their levels in the 24 -hr urine were comparatively lower than those in urine of healthy volu nteers eating normal diet. After changing from parenteral alimentation to diet, the two beta-carboline levels in urine increased in two of t he three patients. From the above results, it is suggested that humans are continuously exposed to norharman and harman derived endogenously and exogenously.