The estimation of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid in urine.

doi:10.1042/BJ0800078

Paper

The estimation of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid in urine.

Published Jul 1, 1961 · M. Sandler, C. Ruthven

The Biochemical journal

Q1 SJR score

39

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0

Influential Citations

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Abstract

Armstrong & McMillan (1957) identified 4hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid (vanilmandelic acid) in normal human urine and demonstrated that increased quantities were excreted after noradrenaline infusion and by patients with the catecholamine-secreting tumour, phaeochromocytoma. Subsequent work has established that 3methoxylation followed by oxidative deamination to 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid is a major metabolic pathway of both noradrenaline and adrenaline (see Axelrod, 1959). Some 4-hydroxy-3methoxymandelic acid is also formned by an alternative pathway in which oxidative deamination precedes 3-methoxylation (Kopin, 1960). About 45% of the total noradrenaline and adrenaline production in man is excreted as 4hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid (Kopin, 1960) compared with a free-amine excretion of only 1-4% (Euler & Luft, 1951; Goldenberg, Serlin, Edwards & Rapport, 1954). Estimation of small concentrations of free catecholamines in urine demands specialized skills and equipment for the biological or fluorimetric procedures involved; results are often conflicting and depend on the method of assay (Goldenberg et al. 1954). Catechol compounds generally are inherently unstable. It is thus likely that 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid, by virtue of its stability and relatively large output, will provide a better guide to noradrenaline and adrenaline turnover, if a simple technique for its assay were available. A number of quantitative techniques have been described (Armstrong, Shaw & Wall, 1956; Robinson, Ratcliffe & Smith, 1959; Smith, Schweitzer & Wortis, 1959; Weise, Mc. Donald & LaBrosse, 1960; Studnitz & Hanson 1959) but none of these methods is well suited to the clinical laboratory. We have given preliminary reports of a colorimetric method for 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid assay (Sandler & Ruthven, 1959a, b). The modification described here is both simpler and more specific. It involves the absorption of urinary 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid on an anion-exchange resin, and its elution, extraction and subsequent conversion into vanillin, which is measured spectrophotometrically. Apart from its value in the diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma, it is suitable for the study of small changes in 4hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid output at normal excretion levels.

Study Snapshot

This study presents a simpler and more specific method for estimating 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid in urine, which can be used to study small changes in catecholamine output and diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

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Paper

The estimation of 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid in urine.

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References

Citations

Effects of Metopirone on Urinary Excretion of Adrenaline, Noradrenaline and Vanylmandelic Acid in Different Physiological Conditions. The Possible Role of Adrenal Cortex in Catecholamine Degradation

Metopirone reduces noradrenaline and vanylmandelic acid excretion while increasing adrenaline in rats, suggesting the adrenal cortex plays a role in catecholamine degradation in nonnal rats.

An automated determination of urinary 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid.

The automated method for urinary 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid determination offers short analysis time, specificity, and precision, with high correlation to HPLC even without restriction of diet and medications.

Modification of the Pisano method for vanilmandelic acid using high pressure liquid chromatography.

The modified Pisano method using high pressure liquid chromatography is more selective and sensitive than the colorimetric procedure for measuring urinary vanilmandelic acid.

Changes in evolution of free epinephrine, norepinephrine, and vanillylmandelic acid in the urine of rabbits during late pregnancy and parturition.

Epilephrine levels in rabbit urine increase during late pregnancy, while norepinephrine levels decrease, and vanillylmandelic acid levels remain slightly higher during parturition.

A simple chromatographic procedure for the concurrent estimation of urinary 4-hydroxy-3-methoxymandelic acid (HMMA) and homovanillic acid (HVA) using a scanning technique.

A simple chromatographic procedure can accurately estimate urinary HMMA and HVA levels, with no significant difference between male and female groups.