Many nitrogen-containing drugs and foreign compounds are N-oxygenated in vertebrates,20 including man. 4 . 7, 11, 12, 18,23,36 For certain drugs, N-oxygenation is a quantitatively important route of metabolism, at least in vitro. 3 , 6 Drug oxidations, including C-hydroxylations and N-dealkylations, are known to be catalyzed by liver microsomal enzymes and to be dependent on oxygen and reduced nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) for activity, and this is also true for N-oxygenation reactions. 2 , 37 However, while the classical drug-oxidative reactions and the N-oxygenation of primary amines are dependent on the NADPH-