Abstract
Summary
Injection of methyl and ethyl ethers of p-nitrophenol in rats is followed by excretion of large amounts of p-nitrophenol and its “conjugates” in the urine. This must involve a breakage of the carbon-oxygen bond of the ether linkage. Homogenates of rat kidney and liver but not of pancreas cause a definite though slight cleavage of these phenyl ethers. Pancreas was inactive; boiling the liver and kidney extracts destroyed their activity against phenyl ethers. This evidence indicates that the breakdown of phenyl ethers by rat tissue is enzymatic and we propose for the enzyme the name phenyletherase.
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