Metabolism of selegiline [(-)-Deprenyl)]

Selegiline (1) [(-)-deprenyl] is used to treat patients with Parkinson's disease. Nevertheless, in much higher doses it has beneficial effects in depression, and dementia of the aged patients. Selegiline (1) undergoes a complex metabolic pathway. Its major metabolites include (-)-desmethyldeprenyl (2), (-)-methamphetamine (3) and (-)-amphetamine (4), deprenyl-N-oxide (5) and formaldehyde (6) as a small metabolic fragment. In addition, more than 40 minor metabolites of selegiline (1) have also been either detected or proposed by investigators and researchers. This review analyses the pharmacological activity, generation pathway and the detection method of the major metabolites of selegiline (1).