Muir A D, Majak W, Pass M A, Yost G S
Toxicol Lett. 1984 Feb;20(2):137-41. doi: 10.1016/0378-4274(84)90138-3.
The metabolism of intravenously administered 3-nitropropanol (miserotoxin aglycone) was examined in cattle and sheep using high-pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine nitrocompounds in plasma. 3-Nitropropanol (NPOH) showed a rapid rate of decay and simultaneously, 3-nitropropionic acid (NPA) was detected at comparable levels in plasma. In animals dosed with NPOH, the observed NPA decayed at a slower rate than NPOH. Nitrite levels in plasma were more closely related to NPA than to NPOH. Therefore, metabolism of NPOH is linked to NPA and this could provide a common basis for the toxicity of these compounds in cattle and sheep.