A NOTE ON THE COMPLEX METABOLISM OF DANTHRON INFUSED INTO THE RAT

Danthron infused intravenously in rats shows a complex dose-dependent pattern of metabolism and excretion. The metabolites, particularly the more polar ones, are in general excreted predominantly in bile, to a lesser extent in urine. They can be separated as metabolite groups acc ording to polarity and molecular size on a Sephadex LH 20 column. The present paper describes a further study within a bile-derived metaboli te group, which proved to be particularly heterogeneous. It contained more than a dozen metabolites, which were conjugates of four different aglycons including the parent danthron. H-1 NMR spectral data for dan thron monosulfate and monoglucuronide are also presented.