Excretion of MBDB and BDB in Urine, Saliva, and Sweat Following Single Oral Administration

A procedure based on gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the simultaneous identification of N-methyl-1-(3,4-methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine (MBDB) and its desmethylated metabolite 3,4-(methylenedioxyphenyl)-2-butanamine (BDB) in urine, saliva, and sweat specimens is presented. For urine and saliva, the method involved the alkaline extraction of a 1-mL specimen (MDEA-d5 internal standard) into ethyl acetate followed by derivatization with heptafluorobutyric anhydride. Sweat specimens, which were collected by a sweat patch, were tested after methanolic elution. The procedure was used to study the excretion of MBDB and BDB in urine, saliva, and sweat after single oral administration of 100 mg of MBDB to one subject. Urine tested positive for 36 h with a peak concentration at 4 h. Immunoassays were positive for 24 and 4 h using FPIA and EMIT, respectively. Peak saliva concentration was observed at 2 h. MBDB and BDB were detected in saliva during the first 17 h. Finally, both compounds were excreted into sweat with a constant increase in concentration during the first 36 h followed by a decrease for the remaining time. In all the biological specimens that were tested, MBDB was present in higher concentrations than its metabolite.