We reported that raspberry ketone (RK) is produced from rhododendrol (RD) in excised mouse skin. We confirmed that RK is also produced from RD in human skin homogenates. We also observed more conversion of RD to RK when the oxidized form of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+), a coenzyme of alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH), was added to human skin homogenates. Chiral column analysis of the consumption of RD enantiomers in human skin homogenates also showed that more of the R enantiomers of RD remained than the S enantiomers of RD. This suggests that the S-enantiomer of RD is more easily oxidized in human skin. We confirmed that RD is partially metabolized to RK in human skin, thus suggesting that ADH in the skin may be the main cause of the appearance of this oxidation product.
Keywords: alcohol dehydrogenase; chemical leukoderma; enantiomers; metabolites; raspberry ketone; rhododendrol.