Phenylaminobutyric Acid

Anilinobutyric Acids or Phenylaminobutyric Acids, CeHs NH C,H6-COOH. Two isomers are described in Beil 12,493,495 [253], of which a-anilino-isobutyric acid, C6HS NH-C(CH,)a -COOH is the parent compd of the following derivs ... 

The direct a-oxidation of propionate to pyruvate has been questioned for some time. The degree of randomization found in glucose upon administration of propionate-2-C or -3-C was found to be more complete than for the correspondingly labeled lactate. Shreeve, in studying the formation of acetyl groups from propionate, observed that the acetyl radicals in N-acetyl phenylaminobutyric acid derived from propionate-2-C was 100% randomized while that derived from the correspondingly labeled lactate or pyruvate was only about 20% randomized. 

A clue to the catabolism of leucine was secured from the observation of Bloch that administration of deutero leucine or isovalerate yielded a high concentration of deuterium in cholesterol and in the acetyl group of N-acetyl phenylaminobutyric acid. This demonstrated that a 2-carbon unit is a normal breakdown product of leucine and of isovaleric acid. The equivalence obtained with respect to the formation of acetate from leucine and isovaleric acid offered support to the hypothesis that conversion to... 

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