The metabolism of the masking agent tolcapone in the horse has been investigated. This substance was found to have undergone various chemical transformations that produced a large variety of phase I metabolites, as well as glucuronide and sulfate conjugation. Confirmation of the presence of tolcapone and the 3-O-methylated metabolite in the blood samples collected up to 240 minutes and in urine obtained up to 24 hours, was successfully conducted using both gas chromatography- and liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry techniques. The 3-O-methyl tolcapone is the better marker to use in a screening method because, in comparison to tolcapone, we have found that this substance offers superior chromatographic performance that should potentially give a lower limit of detection.
Keywords: equine drug metabolism; equine drug testing; mass spectrometry.
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