Drug Metabolism Flashcards
Define drug metabolism?
Biochemical modification of pharmaceutical substances by living organisms usually through specialised enzyme activity.
Why is drug metabolism essential?
Limits the life of a substance in the body.
Are drugs usually metabolised before or after excretion?
Before
Where are the important sites of drug metabolism?
Liver
Lining of gut
Kidneys
Lungs
What are the 2 purposes of metabolism?
Increase water solubility
Deactivate compounds
What are the 3 effects of metabolism?
Loss of pharmacological activity
Decrease of activity
Increase of activity
What are the 3 productions of toxic metabolites?
Direct toxicity
Carcinogenesis
Teratogenesis
Enzymes in drug metabolism are very specific/have a wide specificity.
Wide
How are some enzymes expressed?
Constitutively.
How are other enzymes expressed or induced?
In the presence of a particular substrate.
How many phases are there?
2
What are the phase 1 reactions?
Oxidation
Reduction
Hydrolysis
What is increased in phase 1?
Polarity of compound, providing an active site for phase 2.
What are the most important super family of metabolising enzymes?
P-450
Is specificity usually relative or absolute?
Relative
What is a major constitutive enzyme in human liver?
CYP3A4
What drug is responsible for the metabolism of antidepressants?
CYP2D6
Why are 5-10% of the population immune to analgesic actions of codeine?
Reduced or absent expression of CYP2D6