PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Bernard B. Brodie
AU  - J. J. Burns
AU  - Lester C. Mark
AU  - Philip A. Lief
AU  - Eleonore Bernstein
AU  - E. M. Papper
TI  - THE FATE OF PENTOBARBITAL IN MAN AND DOG AND A METHOD FOR ITS ESTIMATION IN BIOLOGICAL MATERIAL
DP  - 1953 Sep 01
TA  - Journal of Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics
PG  - 26--34
VI  - 109
IP  - 1
4099  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/109/1/26.short
4100  - http://jpet.aspetjournals.org/content/109/1/26.full
SO  - J Pharmacol Exp Ther1953 Sep 01; 109
AB  - A method is described for the estimation of pentobarbital and other oxy-barbiturates in biological fluids and tissues. Pentobarbital is almost entirely metabolized in man. A major metabolic product is d-5-ethyl-5-(3-hydroxy-1-methylbutyl) barbituric acid. Unlike thiopental, pentobarbital is not extensively localized in body fat. This explains, in large part, why pentobarbital is not as short acting an anesthetic as thiopental. In man pentobarbital is metabolized more slowly than thiopental, whereas in the dog the reverse is true. This suggests that the two compounds are metabolized by different biochemical mechanisms.