Isolation and identification of 5-methyl-imidazolin-4-one derivative as glyceraldehyde-derived advanced glycation end product.

We isolated and identified the glyceraldehyde-derived advanced glycation product (AGE) formed from glyceraldehyde and N(alpha)-acetylarginine. A major product was identified as N(alpha)-acetyl-N(delta)-(5-methyl-imidazolin-4-one-2-yl)-ornithine. The compound has been reported as methylglyoxal-derived AGE, MG-H1. This study suggests that MG-H1 is formed through both glyceraldehyde-related and methylglyoxal-related pathways. There is a possibility that MG-H1 becomes an index of injury to glyceraldehyde and methylglyoxal-related enzymes.