Comparison of salsolinol excretion in alcoholics and nonalcoholic controls.

Salsolinol was measured in urine of alcoholics after one through four and after 21 days of withdrawal, in nonalcoholic controls with and without ingestion of alcohol and in young children. HPLC equipped with fluorescence detection was employed. There were no significant differences in salsolinol excretion rate between alcoholics and controls one day after alcohol deprivation. A significant difference in salsolinol output in urine of alcoholics between the first and the twenty-first day of withdrawal was found, but salsolinol output expressed as creatinine-related output did not change. There was no trend of urinary salsolinol excretion rate by alcoholics during the first 4 days of abstinence. The results indicate that the urinary salsolinol excretion rate and the creatinine-related salsolinol output are insufficient to distinguish between alcoholics and nonalcoholics.