Abstract
WOMEN who are taking oestrogen–progestogen preparations to control ovulation, and subjects ingesting oestrogens alone, excrete grossly increased quantities of xanthurenic acid1 and other tryptophan metabolites2,3 in urine collected after the administration of an oral dose of L-tryptophan. This abnormality in part resembles the disturbance of tryptophan metabolism which occurs in pregnancy4. There is one significant difference in that, while the excretion of N-methyl-2-pyridone-5-carboxamide (2-pyridone) is increased in pregnancy, it has been found to be normal in women taking the oestrogen–progestogen preparation ‘Enovid-E’ (0.1 mg of mestranol and 2.5 mg of norethynodrel, Searle and Co.)3.
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ROSE, D., BROWN, R. & PRICE, J. Metabolism of Tryptophan to Nicotinic Acid Derivatives by Women taking Oestrogen–Progestogen Preparations. Nature 219, 1259–1260 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/2191259a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/2191259a0
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