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Nastiest Metabolite/Metabolic By-Product

any major dude

any major dude

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I've been wondering about this for a while now, especially in regards to stimulant use, with the cathinone ban and all sorts of things set to hit the market soon.

Anyway, the 3 nastiest metabolites I can think of are 4-methyl ephedrine (cardiotoxin, metabolite of mephedrone), alpha-methyldopamine (neurotoxin, metabolite of amphetamines), and cocaethylene (cardiotoxin, metabolite of cocaine and ethanol). I'm sure there are many more that are equally bad or worse (I've no idea what happens when someone takes naphyrone...). I also think it would be useful for the purposes of harm reduction to have this info in one thread.

I'd like to know what you guys think are the worst metabolites and why.
 
Obviously, there`s the MPP+ ion produced by MPTP that causes irreversable Parkinsonian symptoms (fastandbulbous` favorite thing to talk about, of course). Acetaminophen`s metabolite NAPQH (sp?) is particularly hepatotoxic.

People who idiotically attempt to "extract" ether from starting fluid using the water method are still probably inhaling a lot of hexane and heptane; hexane in particular has a specific metabolism, being converted into hexane-2,5-dione which is neurotoxic.
 
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Inedible said:
Obviously, there`s the MPP+ ion produced by MPTP that causes irreversable Parkinsonian symptoms (fastandbulbous` favorite thing to talk about, of course). .
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oh yeah, i read about that a while back. I think that one does take the cake. Didn't they eventually treat a couple of the victims with some type of lesioning or grafting of brain tissue?
 
any major dude said:
oh yeah, i read about that a while back. I think that one does take the cake. Didn't they eventually treat a couple of the victims with some type of lesioning or grafting of brain tissue?
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Not sure. I think I heard that; maybe someone else can fill in.

It's actually almost lucky that we had these MPTP accidents, though, because it's given us lots of valuable research into what might actually cause Parkinson's disease. Some scientists theorize that Parkinson's might actually be caused by very minute environmental contamination by MPTP like chemicals that are too low in concentration to reliably detect.
 
Also, two classic examples are as follows:

1. Methanol -> formaldehyde -> formic acid (causes blindness, metabolic acidosis, hypoxic damage due to cytotoxicity)

2. Ethylene glycol -> glycolaldehyde -> glycolic acid (causes metabolic acidosis, hypocalcemia) -> glyoxylic acid -> oxalic acid (causes kidney failure)
 
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Always fascinating when our enzymes really blow it and conjure up something more toxic than what originally was there.

I love how the classic antidote for methanol poisoning is ethanol in moderate amounts to "distract" alcohol dehydrogenase from converting any more methanol. There was a relatively recent situation somewhere in Europe where a local hospital brought over alcohol from a local distillery or tavern for an emergency or something. Did I make this story up? I feel like it happened and I read about it a few years ago. I can`t remember!
 
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