Determination of the Optical Purity of <i>N</i>-nitrosofenfluramine Found in the Chinese Slimming Diet

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  • NAKADAI Ari
    <i>Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School</i>
  • INAGAKI Hirofumi
    <i>Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School</i>
  • MINAMI Masayasu
    <i>Department of Hygiene and Public Health, Nippon Medical School</i>
  • TAKAHASHI Hideyo
    <i>Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University</i>
  • NAMME Rie
    <i>Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University</i>
  • OHSAWA Motoyasu
    <i>Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University</i>
  • IKEGAMI Shiro
    <i>Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Teikyo University</i>

Bibliographic Information

Other Title
  • 中国製ダイエット用健康食品中の<i>N</i>-nitrosofenfluramine の光学純度の決定
  • 中国製ダイエット用健康食品中のN-nitrosofenfluramineの光学純度の決定
  • チュウゴクセイ ダイエットヨウ ケンコウ ショクヒン チュウ ノ N nitrosofenfluramine ノ コウガク ジュンド ノ ケッテイ

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Abstract

From 2001 to the summer of 2002, more than 800 cases of liver damage were reported in Japan among people taking Chinese diet aids. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has recently announced that N-nitrosofenfluramine was the hepatotoxic compound contained in the diet aids based on animal experiments performed by the National Institute of Health Sciences. Although N-nitrosofenfluramine is a derivative of fenfluramine, a previously used antiobesity drug, neither pharmacologic nor toxicologic properties have been reported for N-nitroso fenfluramine.<br> It should be noted that N-nitrosofenfluramine has two optical isomers, although it is not yet known which isomer damages the liver and other organs. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare has not commented on this point. Pursuing this question, 10 types of Chinese slimming aid samples including those obtained from patients with fulminating hepatitis were analyzed by NMR, GC/MS, and a newly established HPLC method using a chiral separation column. It was found that the N-nitrosofenfluramine in all of the toxic diet aids was the (S)-isomer form. No (R)-isomer was detected. These results strongly suggest that the nitroso-compound in the diets must be prepared from pharmacologically active (S)-fenfluramine (dexfenfluramine). Thus the pharmacologic and toxicologic properties of each isomer should be investigated.<br>

Journal

  • YAKUGAKU ZASSHI

    YAKUGAKU ZASSHI 123 (9), 805-809, 2003-09-01

    The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan

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