Disposition of ¹⁴C mescaline by rabbit lung

Metabolism of mescaline by several rabbit tissues was examined in vitro. Mescaline oxidizing activity (micromoles per milligram of protein/15 min) of lung homogenates was 4 times greater than that of either liver or kidney. Brain and plasma each had comparatively little capacity to metabolize mescaline. Mescaline metabolism in vitro was sensitive to inhibition by semicarbazide. Removal of mescaline from the medium perfusing the isolated rabbit lung was explained by intrapulmonary metabolism. Semicarbazide (10^-3 M) inhibited mescaline metabolism by perfused lung, but metabolism was not decreased by 10^-5 M pargyline. Semicarbazide treated lungs accumulated more mescaline than did untreated lungs. Mescaline efflux from lung was slower than that of its metabolite. These results indicate that the intact lung removes perfused mescaline and may be important in the disposition of circulating mescaline in vivo.