RETINOYL BETA-GLUCURONIC ACID: A MAJOR METABOLITE OF VITAMIN A IN RAT BILE.

The major metabolite in rat bile of injected C(14)-retinoic acid was purified by ion-exchange and silicic acid chromatography; it has the spectrum of methyl retinoate, releases retinoic acid upon basic hydrolysis or by treatment with beta-glucuronidase, and contains glucuronic acid. The metabolite was characterized by treatment with diazomethane followed by hexamethyl-disilazane, or with periodate followed by semicarbazide, and the products were chromatographed. The metabolite has been tentatively identified as retinoyl beta-glucuronide.