1,4-Butanediol evidence profile

1,4-Butanediol: evidence and interpretation notes

Why HalfLifeDB does not plot 1,4-Butanediol

1,4-Butanediol must first be converted through alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenase pathways to GHB. Conversion can vary and can be altered by competing substrates, so one parent-compound half-life would obscure the relevant biology.

1,4-Butanediol is included because it is converted to GHB, making parent-compound decay alone a poor description of the pharmacologic picture.

The 0.9 hour value is a simplified visual input. Conversion, enzyme activity, co-exposures, and measurement target can all change how this entry should be interpreted.

The citations include a clinical toxicology review, work on butanediol conversion to GHB, and the direct compound record.

What each source contributes

• Busardo FP et al. The clinical toxicology of GHB, GBL and 1,4-butanediol (2012). This supporting literature record adds compound-specific background and is used only within the limits of its design.
• Doyon S et al. Butanediol conversion to GHB reduced by fomepizole (2019). This supporting literature record adds compound-specific background and is used only within the limits of its design.
• PubChem: 1,4-Butanediol. This identity record confirms names and compound identity and does not supply a human half-life.

For 1,4-Butanediol, the decision to withhold a curve turns on the limits visible in Busardo FP et al. The clinical toxicology of GHB, GBL and 1,4-butanediol (2012). This supporting literature record adds compound-specific background, but it is used only within the limits of its design.

What evidence would change the page

A defensible 1,4-Butanediol curve would require repeated human samples and a reported estimate for 1,4-Butanediol itself, rather than an inference from species, cases, related compounds, or class behavior. The current key record, Busardo FP et al. The clinical toxicology of GHB, GBL and 1,4-butanediol (2012), answers a narrower question.