p-Cresol (4-methylphenol), a 108.1 Da volatile low-molecular-weight compound, is a phenol. It is a partially lipophilic moiety which strongly binds to plasma protein (close to 100%) under normal conditions. p-Cresol is metabolized through conjugation, mainly sulphation and glucuronization, but removal of the unconjugated p-cresol is, at least in part, via the urine. Therefore it is not surprising that this compound, together with several other phenoles, is retained when the kidneys fail. P-Cresol is an end-product of protein breakdown, and an increase of the nutritional protein load in healthy individuals results in enhanced generation and urinary excretion. The serum p-cresol concentration in uremic patients can be decreased by changing to a low-protein diet. p-Cresol is one of the metabolites of the amino acid tyrosine, and to a certain extent also of phenylalanine, which are converted to 4-hydroxyphenylacetic acid by intestinal bacteria, before being decarboxylated to p-cresol (putrefaction). The main contributing bacteria are aerobes (mainly enterobacteria), but to a certain extent also anaerobes play a role (mainly Clostridium perfringens). In uremia, modifications in the intestinal flora result in the specific overgrowth of bacteria that are specific p-cresol producers. The administration of antibiotics reduces urinary excretion of p-cresol, as a result of the liquidation of the producing bacteria. Environmental factors might also contribute. The liver cytochrome P450 metabolizes toluene to benzyl alcohol, but also to o-cresol and p-cresol. Toluene is not only used industrially, but it is also the most widely abusively inhaled solvent. Furthermore, p-cresol is a metabolite of menthofuran, one of the metabolites of R-(+)-pulegone, which is found in extracts from the plants Mentha pulegium and Hedeoma pulegioides, commonly known as pennyroyal oil and pennyroyal tea. These extracts are popular as unconventional herbal therapeutic agents and are applied as abortiva, diaphoretics, emmenagogues, and psychedelic drugs. Pennyroyal oil is extensively used for its pleasant mint-like smell in the flavoring industry. The toxicity of pennyroyal oil and menthofuran is well known. Another compound used in traditional medicine, especially in Japan, which is a precursor of p-cresol is wood tar creosote. p-Cresol has been reported to affect several biochemical, biological and physiological functions: (i) it diminishes the oxygen uptake of rat cerebral cortex slices; (ii) it increases the free active drug concentration of warfarin and diazepam; (iii) it has been related to growth retardation in the weanling pig; (iv) it alters cell membrane permeability, at least in bacteria; (v) it induces LDH leakage from rat liver slices; (vi) it induces susceptibility to auditive epileptic crises; and (vii) it blocks cell K+ channels. (A7723). p-Cresol is a uremic toxin that is at least partially removed by peritoneal dialysis in haemodialysis patients, and has been involved in the progression of renal failure. (MID: 11169029). At concentrations encountered during uremia, p-cresol inhibits phagocyte function and decreases leukocyte adhesion to cytokine-stimulated endothelial cells. (A3274).