Abstract:
Synthetic cannabinoid
N-(1-carbamoyl-2, 2-dimethylpropyl)-1-butylazole-3-formamide (ADB-BUTINACA), as a new psychoactive substance, shows strong stimulant and hallucinogenic effects. It can cause cardiovascular, renal and gastrointestinal diseases, and in severe cases, it can lead to death. However, there are few reports on toxicology studies of the ADB-BUTINACA metabolic pathway and its long-term effects on the organism and the molecular mechanisms behind it. In this study, the metabolic profile of rat serum after low, medium and high doses of ADB-BUTINACA (0.1, 1, and 5 mg·kg
-1) intervention were analyzed using UHPLC coupled with a Q-Orbitrap-MS (UHPLC-Q-Orbitrap-HRMS). The results showed that the intervention of ADB-BUTINACA could cause significant changes of 50 metabolites such as
L-glutamate and 3-hydroxybutyrate, and nine metabolic pathways including alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, retinol metabolism, and TCA cycle were disturbed. These findings provide a novel experimental and theoretical framework for further investigation of the toxicological mechanisms underlying ADB-BUTINACA-induced dysregulation of lipid and energy metabolism. Furthermore, they offer valuable insights that could facilitate the diagnosis and prevention of ADB-BUTINACA toxicity, thereby underscoring their significant implications for public health. The study was conducted in adherence to both the Declaration of Helsinki and the National Institutes of Health's Guidelines for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, and received approval from the animal experimental center at the Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Ethical number: 20220718-11).