Summary
Brain-cortex slices demethylate mescaline and p-methoxyacetanilide, a reference O-demethylating substrate, though the rate of demethylation of mescaline is about one third that of the reference substrate. The demethylase activity is localized mostly in the soluble supernatant (105000xg). It is purified 47-fold with respect to the demethylation of mescaline by ammonium sulfate precipitation and DEAE cellulose chromatography. The partially purified demethylase, which is stable for 3–5 days at −5° C in the presence of dithiothreitol and glutathione and is inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate, has maximal activity at pH between 7.2 and 8.0. It demethylates mescaline into 3,4-dimethoxy-5-hydroxyphenethylamine and 3,5-dimethoxy-4-hydroxyphenethylamine and some unidentified derivatives.
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This study was supported by the Charles H. Silver Foundation, New York, Indian Council of Medical Research and the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, New Delhi, India. The authors thank Inderjit Kaur for her assistance in the preparation of the manuscript
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Datta, R.K., Ghosh, J.J. Mescaline-induced changes of brain-cortex ribosomes mescaline demethylase activity of brain-cortex soluble supernatant. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg's Arch. Pharmacol. 296, 297–300 (1977). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00498697
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00498697