3,4-Dihydroxyphenylglycolaldehyde (DOPEGAL), also known as 3,4-dihydroxymandelaldehyde (DHMAL) as well as norepinephrine aldehyde or epinephrine aldehyde, is a metabolite of the monoamine neurotransmitters norepinephrine and epinephrine.
DOPEGAL is a noradrenergic neurotoxin.
[1] DOPEGAL is formed by monoamine oxidase (MAO) via oxidative deamination.
[3][4][5][6][7][8] Following its formation, DOPEGAL is metabolized.
Through the metabolism process, it is converted into 3,4-dihydroxymandelic acid (DHMA) via aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH), or into 3,4-dihydroxyphenylglycol (DHPG) via aldehyde reductase (ALR).