4) Biotransformations Flashcards
Primary purpose of drug metabolism
- Render lipid soluble and non-polar compounds to water soluble and polar compounds for easy excretion
Only water-soluble substances undergo
- Excretion
Lipid-soluble substances are
- Passively reabsorbed into the blood
Primary site of drug metabolism
- Liver
- It is enriched with a variety of enzymes
Extra-hepatic metabolism (kidney, lungs, skin) takes place to a smaller extent due to
- Presence of
lower level of enzymes
Not all drugs are bioavailable, in which this led to the development of
- Prodrugs
Phase I metabolism (biotransformaiton)
- Makes xenobiotics more polar
- Oxidation, reduction, and hydrolysis
Phase II metabolism (conjugation)
- To further increase polarity by
conjugation - Addition of a new group (acetyl, sulfate, glucuronic acid, amino acid etc.) to the phase I metabolite
A drug has no absolute requirement to undergo
- Both Phase I and Phase II transformations
- In some instances Phase II transformations are enough to provide adequate water solubility for elimination without the need for Phase
Active metabolite may retain
- The activity of the parent drug
Inactive metabolite has no
- Pharmacological activity (unlike the parent drug)
Biotransformation
- When the metabolite is active, and the parent drug is not
- We call the parent drug a prodrug
Phase I metabolism consists of three types of biotransformations
- Oxidation
- Reduction
- Hydrolysis
Oxidation in phase I occurs via
- Mainly Cytochrome P450s (for carbons)
- Flavin-containing monooxygenases (non- carbon) in the liver
Miscellaneous oxidases involved in phase I metabolism
- Alcohol dehydrogenase, aldehyde dehydrogenase
- Monoamine oxidase (deamination of catecholamines)
Reduction in phase I occurs via
- Reductase enzymes (e.g. disulfide bond)
Hydrolysis in phase I occurs via
- Esterases
- Peptidases (hydrolysis of esters and amides)
From a chemical perspective, oxidation refers to
- Loss of electrons
- Increase in the oxidation state of an atom/molecule
The oxidation of a functional group on a drug molecule will result in one or more of the following:
- Gain in oxygen
- Loss of hydrogen
- Loss of an alkyl group and/or a loss of a heteroatom
Unsubstituted phenyl rings are primarily hydroxylated at
- Para position due to a lack of steric hindrance
Steric hindrance is also present in _____ and _____ position gets hydroxylated.
- Diazepam
- Para
Alkene oxidation can produce
- Epoxides
- Diols
- Peroxides (as shown with protriptyline)
At least one _____ on one of the two alkene carbon atoms is required for this type of oxidation to occur.
- Hydrogen atom
The _____ present within the structure of tamoxifen cannot undergo oxidation.
- Alkene bond
A benzylic carbon atom is an _____ carbon atom that is directly attached to an _____.
- Aliphatic
- Aromatic ring
Benzylic oxidation only occurs at the
- Least sterically hindered position
An allylic carbon atom is an _____ carbon atom that is directly attached to an _____.
- Aliphatic
- Alkene
- Directly adjacent to a non-aromatic double bond
Spironolactone has two allylic carbon atoms; however, only one of these can undergo allylic oxidation because
- The other does not have a hydrogen atom attached to it
Aliphatic carbon chains can undergo oxidation at either the _____ in the chain or at the
_____ carbon atom in the chain
- Terminal methyl group (omega/ω)
- Penultimate/next to last (omega-1/ω-1)
Oxidative de-amination mainly occurs with
- Primary amines
In order for oxidative deamination to occur
- The α-carbon (i.e., the carbon atom directly adjacent to the nitrogen atom) must be attached to at least one hydrogen atom
- The carbon atom that is α to the amine undergoes oxidation