3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid
Names
	IUPAC name 2-(3,4-Dihydroxyphenyl)acetic acid
Identifiers
CAS Number	102-32-9 ;
3D model (JSmol)	Interactive image;
ChEBI	CHEBI:41941 ;
ChEMBL	ChEMBL1284 ;
ChemSpider	532 ;
DrugBank	DB01702 ;
ECHA InfoCard	100.002.750
MeSH	3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic+Acid
PubChem CID	547;
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)	DTXSID9074430 ;
	InChI InChI=1S/C8H8O4/c9-6-2-1-5(3-7(6)10)4-8(11)12/h1-3,9-10H,4H2,(H,11,12) Key: CFFZDZCDUFSOFZ-UHFFFAOYSA-N ; InChI=1/C8H8O4/c9-6-2-1-5(3-7(6)10)4-8(11)12/h1-3,9-10H,4H2,(H,11,12) Key: CFFZDZCDUFSOFZ-UHFFFAOYAU;
	SMILES O=C(O)Cc1cc(O)c(O)cc1;
Properties
Chemical formula	C8H8O4
Molar mass	168.148 g·mol−1
	Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). verify (what is ?) Infobox references

3,4-Dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) is a metabolite of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Dopamine can be metabolized into one of three substances. One such substance is DOPAC. Another is 3-methoxytyramine (3-MT). Both of these substances are degraded to form homovanillic acid (HVA). Both degradations involve the enzymes monoamine oxidase (MAO) and catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT), albeit in reverse order: MAO catalyzes dopamine to DOPAC, and COMT catalyzes DOPAC to HVA; whereas COMT catalyzes dopamine to 3-MT and MAO catalyzes 3-MT to HVA. The third metabolic end-product of dopamine is norepinephrine (noradrenaline).

DOPAC can be oxidized by hydrogen peroxide, leading to the formation of toxic metabolites which destroy dopamine storage vesicles in the substantia nigra. This may contribute to the failure of levodopa treatment of Parkinson's disease. A MAO-B inhibitor such as selegiline or rasagiline can prevent this from happening.

It can also be found in the bark of Eucalyptus globulus.^[1]

References

^ Santos, Sónia A. O.; Freire, Carmen S. R.; Domingues, M. Rosário M.; Silvestre, Armando J. D.; Neto, Carlos Pascoal (2011). "Characterization of Phenolic Components in Polar Extracts of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Bark by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 59 (17): 9386–93. doi:10.1021/jf201801q. PMID 21761864.

[1] Santos, Sónia A. O.; Freire, Carmen S. R.; Domingues, M. Rosário M.; Silvestre, Armando J. D.; Neto, Carlos Pascoal (2011). "Characterization of Phenolic Components in Polar Extracts of Eucalyptus globulus Labill. Bark by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry". Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. 59 (17): 9386–93. doi:10.1021/jf201801q. PMID 21761864.

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