Sparteine metabolism in Canadian Caucasians

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Abstract
The capacity for sparteine (SP) [an antiarrhythmic and oxytoxic agent isolated from Sarothamnus scoparius flowers] metabolism was determined in 48 Caucasian subjects by measuring amounts of drug and dehydrogenated metabolites in urine after an oral dose of SP sulfate. Three phenotypes were recognized and assumed to represent individuals homozygous for poor SP oxidation (group III) and those heterozygous (group II) and homozygous (group I) for extensive SP oxidation. Separation of groups I and II, although incomplete, was improved by alterations in the published analytic procedure. The pattern of deviations from the normal distribution was similar for both dehydrosparteine metabolites. Evidently there is a common intermediate, the formation of which is monogenically controlled. Correlation analysis of the 2 metabolites indicates the possibility of further metabolism of 5-dehydrosparteine.