Urinary Excretion of Amines in Normal Children

The urinary excretion of amines was investigated in 20 normal children by means of two-dimensional paper chromatography, following preliminary separation of amines from other urinary constituents by the use of a cation exchange resin. Normal children were found to excrete the following 19 amines: tryptamine, serotonin, bufotenin, kynuramine, histamine, βN-acetylhistamine, p-tyramine, m-tyramine, p-hydroxybenzylamine, octopamine, synephrine, 3-methoxytyramine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzylamine, normetanephrine, metanephrine, ethanolamine, ethylamine,βhydroxy-propylamine, and pyrrolidine. Of these, kynuramine, p-hydroxybenzylamine, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxybenzylamine, and β-hydroxypropylamine have not been previously reported as constituents of human urine. The methods used were not stisfactory for the detection of methylamine, dimethylamine, piperidine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, and dopamine, but the presence of these six amines in urine has been reported by others. An additional 24 unidentified compounds, probably amines, were found in most or all of the urines studied, and some of them appeared to be present in relatively large amounts. Other unidentified bases were encountered in a few urines. The effects of monoamine oxidase blockade on the urinary excretion of amines have been described, as well as the effects of exclusion of plant foods from the diet, and antibiotic restriction of intestinal flora. Figures are presented for the approximate range of daily excretion of 12 amines. It is suggested that study of the excretion of amines in the urine of children who are mentally defective or mentally ill, and comparison with the pattern of urinary amines in normal children, may provide clues to the mechanisms of certain forms of cerebral dysfunction.