Identification of N-(2-propenal) serine as a urinary metabolite of malondialdehyde.

N-2-(Propenal) serine (S-MDA) was synthesized by reacting serine with malondialdehyde (MDA) and was shown to be a 1:1 adduct of the starting materials. The synthetic compound was found to be identical to a metabolite of MDA excreted in rat and human urine. The identity of the metabolite was confirmed by isolation and hydrolysis to yield equimolar quantities of serine and MDA. The presence of S-MDA in urine constitutes direct evidence for oxidative decomposition of phospholipids by lipid peroxidation in vivo.