Two new tryptophane metabolites of the American cockroach

In the course of attempts to isolate and characterize the ‘nesting’ or aggregation pheromone of the American cockroach, Periplaneta americana, two metabolites of tryptophane have been identified. These are oxindole and hydrocarbostyril. That these were indeed tryptophane metabolites was demonstrated by administering radiolabelled tryptophane to cockroaches following tetracycline treatment and isolating the radioactive metabolites.