Metabolism of N-phenyllinoleamide by rat liver.

N-Phenyllinoleamide (NPLA), the anilide of linoleic acid, has been associated with the epidemiology of toxic oil syndrome, but its contribution to the illness is still undetermined. Because it has been suggested that fatty acid anilides were absorbed via the hepatic portal vein, this study has been aimed at determining the hepatic metabolism of NPLA by rat liver. For this purpose, isolated liver was perfused with NPLA (0.1 mM) spiked with either aniline- or fatty acid-labelled NPLA. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of the peaks appearing in the radiochromatographic metabolic profiles shows that metabolism of NPLA in the liver results in formation of aniline and linoleic acid, both biologically active metabolites whose expected direct effects were not observed in patients suffering toxic oil syndrome.