Formation of nitrogen oxides including NO from oxidative cleavage of C=N(OH) bonds: A general cytochrome P450-dependent reaction.

Several compounds such as aldoximes, ketoximes, amidoximes and guanidoximes were oxidized by liver microsomes from dexamethasone-treated rats with formation of nitrogen oxides such as NO2−, NO3− and NO. The oxidative cleavage of their C=N(OH) bond appears as a general P450 3A-catalyzed reaction, which is particularly efficient in the case of N,N′-disubstituted guanidoximes.