Five isozymes of cytochrome P-450 were purified from liver microsomes of phenobarbital-pretreated (P-450-SD-I and -II), 3-methylcholanthrene-pretreated (P-450-SD-III) and untreated rats (P-450-SD-IV and -V) to determine their catalytic activities in metabolic reactions of methamphetamine. 2. All the isozymes except P-450-SD-III showed considerably high N-hydroxylating activity of methamphetamine. The cytochromes P-450 initiate N-demethylation of this drug by two metabolic pathways, C-hydroxylation and N-hydroxylation. 3. Both N-demethylation and N-hydroxylation of methamphetamine were efficiently catalysed by the phenobarbital-inducible forms P-450-SD-I and -II and constitutive forms P-450-SD-IV and -V. 4. The constitutive forms P-450-SD-IV and -V revealed high catalytic activities of p-hydroxylation of methamphetamine, but phenobarbital- and 3-methylcholanthrene-inducible isozymes showed only low activities. 5. The present results indicate that the different extents of the metabolic intermediate complex formation with cytochrome P-450 (455 nm complex) in the microsomes from phenobarbital-, 3-methylcholanthrene-pretreated, and untreated rats is not attributable to the activities of the respective isozymes of cytochrome P-450 to form the precursor of the complex, N-hydroxymethamphetamine.
