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EFFECT OF VITAMIN B 6 ON PHENYLALANINE METABOLISM IN THE BRAIN OF NORMAL AND p‐CHLOROPHENYLALANINE‐TREATED RATS
Author(s) -
Loo Y. H.,
Mack Kathryn
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
journal of neurochemistry
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.75
H-Index - 229
eISSN - 1471-4159
pISSN - 0022-3042
DOI - 10.1111/j.1471-4159.1972.tb01293.x
Subject(s) - pyridoxamine , transamination , phenylalanine , chemistry , metabolism , vitamin , phenylketonurias , biochemistry , amino acid , endocrinology , phenylpyruvic acid , decarboxylation , tetrahydrobiopterin , medicine , biology , enzyme , cofactor , vitamin b6 , catalysis
— A phenylketonuria‐like state was produced in the preweanling rat, and the metabolism of phenylalanine in the normal and phenylketonuric brain was compared. The effect of B 6 vitamers on the disposition of phenylalanine was also investigated. Phenylalanine was metabolized mainly by transamination and to a lesser extent by decarboxylation in both the normal and phenylketonuric‐like brain. Small amounts of amine were detected in all the brains throughout the experimental period. More than 95 percent of the metabolized amino acid appeared as aromatic acids, which steadily accumulated and remained in the brain for the duration of the experiment. No change in the metabolic pattern was produced by pyridoxol. In striking contrast, pyridoxamine prevented the accumulation of acidic metabolites in the brains of all animals tested. We suggest that pyridoxamine phosphate and/or pyridoxamine is actively associated with the removal of excess keto acids and aldehydes from the brain.