Elevation of urinary catecholamines and their metabolites following tyrosine administration in humans.

A single oral dose of tyrosine (100 or 150 mg/kg) caused significant increases in urinary levels of norepinephrine (NE), epinephrine (E), dopamine (DA), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), vanilmandelic acid (VMA), and homovanillic acid (HVA) during the first 2 hr after its ingestion; water administration failed to produce such changes. The temporal patterns of these increases paralleled those of previously described increases in plasma tyrosine. Since urinary catecholamines derive from peripheral sources, while the catecholamine metabolites in urine may reflect both CNS and peripheral catecholamine turnover, these findings indicate that tyrosine administration may accelerate catecholamine synthesis in and release from cells throughout the human body. Tyrosine may thus constitute a useful agent for treating central or peripheral disorders associated with insufficient release of catecholamines.